Second Chances
by meegs28
Summary: The Final Battle has been lost. When Ginny Weasley is sent back to change everything, the past suddenly becomes her future. Bearing the memories of those she lost can she save them all and give them a chance to live again?
1. The end of the world as we know it

**"Bottom line is, even if you see them coming, you're not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change. Not really. But it does. So what, are we helpless? Puppets? The big moments are gonna come, you can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's when you find out who you are."- Buffy the Vampire Slayer**

Disclaimer: All wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling. This is purely a fan fic.

…

**Chapter One – The end of the world as we know it**

Ginny Weasley ran for her life. Spells whizzed past her as the final battle raged on at Hogwarts. Only minutes earlier she had watched in horror as Hagrid emerged from the Forbidden Forrest with Harry Potter's lifeless body in his arms. Hope was lost as the saviour of the wizarding world was dead. Many of those who were left defending Hogwarts looked on as she did in horror and disbelief. Ron and Hermonie along with Neville and countless other students charged Voldermort and his Death Eaters in anger. They were all dead within minutes.

Retreat. Run. That's what voices had begun to yell. The Order of the Phoenix had no choice but to run. They were simply outnumbered.

Rough hands had grabbed her as she stood on the steps, her hand raised to her mouth in horror as she tried to comprehend how this could of happened. Looking up she had seen Charlie.

"Run Ginny. I need you to run" he said loudly as he dragged her up the steps and into the entrance hall of Hogwarts.

And run they did. With Death Eaters fast approaching, the remaining resistance panicked. There were students, Order members and others who had come to help fight running everywhere, simply just trying to save themselves.

She struggled to keep up with her older brother, who was barrelling past others. They quickly passed the Great Hall and saw a number of bodies on the floor – her parents, Fred, George, Bill, Fleur, Remus, Tonks just to name a few.

"No – Mum!" Ginny yelled painfully upon seeing her parent's lifeless bodies. She wanted to stop, to collapse on top of her mother's body, to grieve.

"C'mon Ginny!" Charlie said roughly.

"We have to keep going"

"But its Mum and Dad" she cried.

"I know Gin, I know. But they are gone. We have to get you to safety" he said sadly.

Taking one last look at the people on the ground she allowed herself to be pulled along again.

Charlie dragged his sister up the staircase to the second floor and ran until they reached the Transfiguration classroom. Slamming the door behind him, he cast a locking charm and finally took the time to look at his sister properly. She looked shocked, that was to be expected. There were bruises and minor cuts on her face and arms, but nothing that wasn't able to be healed relatively easily.

"Charlie?" she asked him uneasily, wondering what they were going to do next.

Reaching forward he pulled her into a hug like he had so many times before. Knowing that they were the only two Weasley's left alive now.

"Ginny listed to me, we don't have much time" he told her quietly as he brushed some hair back from her eyes.

"You saw there bodies right?" he asked her gently.

Ginny nodded as tears filled her eyes.

"They are all gone Gin, we are the only ones left"

"No they can't be" she cried reaching for his arm, refusing to believe it.

"We are, I'm so sorry but we are. Now you have to listen to me carefully. Bill, Harry and I were prepared for this in case something happened. You're the last one left I trust Ginny, this is going to save you" he said as he pulled a small bag out of his pocket and enlarging it.

It was a simple black satchel. Charlie opened it and pulled out a time turner.

"Charlie what is it?" she asked fingering the gold locket on a chain.

"It's a time turner Gin" he explained.

"It is set to take you back to a safe time, to a safe place. Once you get there you get to Dumbledore and explain everything. There is a letter in the bag here; it has been charmed to be only opened by a Weasley. It explains everything"

"I – I don't understand. You want me to go back in time?" she asked confused.

"It's the only way we can change things. You can make things right, you can make sure we don't all die" he told her gently.

Looking up at him through the tears in her eyes she asked him the question she already knew the answer to.

"Your coming with me right?"

Charlie's eyes filled with tears as he looked at his only sister.

"No Gin, the time turner has only been charmed to take one person, as a security precaution"

"No" she cried loudly.

"I'm not going without you, I won't!"

Pulling her to him again he hugged her hard.

"I love you Gin, we have all loved you so much" he cried softly, kissing the top of her head.

Pulling back he swung the black satchel over her head and rested it on her shoulder before she could protest.

"No Charlie" Ginny said openly crying now.

"Please don't make this harder than it has to be. I need you to go Ginny, I need you to be safe" Charlie told her forcefully.

Ginny opened her mouth to protest again but seeing the tears in her brothers eyes, the begging and the steely determination she closed her mount and her shoulders sagged in resignation.

"I'll do it" she whispered sadly.

Loud noises of fighting broke through the emotion in the room. Doors were being thrown open, curses were being thrown. The Death Easters had reached the second floor and were getting closer to where Ginny and Charlie were hiding.

"We don't have any time" Charlie muttered worried.

He hooked the time turner over Ginny's neck.

"You have everything you need in the bag. You will land somewhere safe, Harry made sure of it. Remember to find Dumbledore, tell him everything"

He turned the time turner anti clockwise twice.

Tears streamed down both siblings cheeks.

"I love you Charlie" Ginny cried holding his hand.

"Look after yourself okay? Use your knowledge of this life to do what you can" he told her, his voice choking with emotion.

Ginny felt the room starting to spin and she felt Charlie pulling away from her.

"Go Ginny - live, love, make us proud of you" he cried before stepping back and watching as a blinding bright light started at Ginny's feet before encasing her whole body.

The last thing Ginny Weasley saw before being taken away was the door to the Transfiguration classroom being blown open and a green light hitting Charlie.

It was like being in a side along apparition only worse. The light didn't help matters. Just as Ginny felt like she couldn't handle it anymore, the pressure began to subside and the light faded. She fell to the ground with a sickening crunch, knowing that she had broken at least an ankle.

"Charlie!" she screamed before dissolving into hysterical tears.

James Potter loved quidditch. There was nothing quite like the feeling of flying on a broom with a quaffle tucked under one arm weaving through the air, dodging bludgers and other players whilst trying to score a goal.

"C'mon James!" Sirius Black yelled from his position in front of the goals.

Looking down at the ground he could see his parents, Matthew and Isabelle, talking quietly as they watched him and Sirius play a backyard game of quidditch. Concentrating he flew towards the goal determined to get this one past Sirius when he was stopped in his tracks. A blinding white light appeared and out of the sky dropped a person.

Shocked beyond belief he watched in fascination as this person, a girl it appeared with long red hair, fell towards the ground.

Matthew Potter, who had the quickest reflexes, pulled his wand out of his robes and muttered a spell that caught her before she hit the ground too hard. They could all hear the sickening crunch as she hit the grass and her whimper of pain.

Quickly landing on the ground the same time as Sirius, James reached the girl as his parents were leaning down on the ground to check on her.

Lifting her head she looked around quickly, her hair tangled around her face, preventing them from seeing her face.

"Charlie!" she cried out before she started sobbing uncontrollably.

Matthew and Isabelle Potter quickly glanced at each other before nodding. Isabelle motioned for Matthew to step backwards giving the girl some room and taking James and Sirius with him. Gently reaching forward she brushed the long red hair from the face of the girl. Tear stained brown eyes looked up at her in fear.

"Are you okay?" Isabelle asked the girl.

Nodding, Ginny took a few deep breaths before speaking. "Where am I?" she asked looking into the face of the middle-aged woman.

She had a kind face and Ginny wondered if this was the safe place that Charlie had been talking. "Your at Potter manor dear. I'm Isabelle Potter and this is my husband Matthew, son James and his friend Sirius Black"

Ginny looked past the woman to the three gentlemen she had been referring to. He eyebrows shot up and her eyes widened as she took in James Potter and Sirius Black.

And then she fainted.


	2. I Gotta Feeling

**Chapter Two – I Gotta Feeling**

Ginny Weasley groaned in pain as she opened her eyes. Every part of her body felt like it had been pulled and stretched in every possible direction. For a moment she blinked as she looked up at the ceiling, confused as to where she was, how she had gotten inside and was lying in this very comfortable bed.

"Your awake" a male voice said quietly.

She swung her head around to the voice and simply stared at the boy in front of her. Sirius Black looked so young. She really couldn't get over it. He didn't have the permanent look of pain on his face that she had become accustomed to in her own time. His dark curly hair framed his face nicely but it was his eyes that she was drawn to. They looked at her curiously and she knew he would have many questions to ask her, questions she was not sure how to answer.

"Are you feeling okay? The Potters have gone to get a healer for you. What happened to you?" he asked gesturing to the cuts and bruises over her face and arms.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Ginny sank back into the pillows.

"Do you have a mirror?" she asked him opening her eyes again, suddenly self-conscious of how she looked.

Nodding he rose from the chair he had been sitting in and walked to the dresser, opening the top drawer he pulled out a small mirror and walked back over to her. Ginny grabbed the mirror out of his hands and gasped when she saw herself. She looked terrible.

The door behind Sirius opened and in came Isabelle and James followed by a younger looking Madame Pomfrey.

"Oh your awake dear" Isabelle asked as she rushed forward to sit next to Ginny on the bed. "How do you feel?" she asked gently patting her hand.

"I've been better" Ginny said honestly staring into the face of Isabelle. She could see a bit of Harry in there, the compassion in her eyes, the worried looks.

"This is Madame Pomfrey, she has come from Hogwarts to attend to you. Matthew has gone to get Albus Dumbledore, he is the Headmaster at Hogwarts" she explained to Ginny.

Madame Pomfrey dashed forward and shooed Sirius out of the way. He walked back and stood next to James who was silent as he watched Madame Pomfrey work on her broken ankle.

"Did you get a chance to ask her anything?" James whispered to Sirius curious as to who she was and what had happened to her. Shaking his head Sirius continued to look at Ginny. She intrigued him. It was obvious that something terrible had happened to her, and he was beginning to think there was some terrible story that she was hiding.

"No, she woke up just before you got back here"

Ginny knew that she owed them all an explanation, but she wasn't sure how much she could tell them. She knew that she could trust them all, but how much of the future could she reveal. A sudden thought crossed her mind and Ginny looked around for her black bag

"My bag" she cried suddenly sitting up.

Isabelle reached to the floor and picked up the black satchel bag and handed it to Ginny, who quickly grabbed it and hugged it to her chest.

"My name is Ginny" she told them softly.

"What happened to you, were you in a fight?" James asked suddenly stepping forward.

"James!" Isabelle scolded her son.

"No, it's okay" Ginny told them.

"We were attacked by Death Eaters, my family, I – I'm the only one left" she said quietly looking down at her hands. Silence filled the room and Madam Pomfrey continued to work on Ginny.

"We're back" a loud male voice called from the doorway and all the occupants turned to see Matthew Potter and Professor Dumbledore standing in the doorway.

"Oh Professor" Ginny said quietly smiling sadly at the man who had died over a year ago.

Sirius glanced at Ginny, judging by her reaction she must of known Professor Dumbledore. But how was that possible, he was pretty sure she didn't attend Hogwarts.

Dumbledore walked towards Ginny and smiled down at her gently over his glasses.

"I believe that we should have a chat" he told her gently sitting down in the chair that Sirius had earlier vacated.

Reaching a hand into the pocket of his bright blue robes, Dumbledore pulled out a small brown paper bag and opened it before offering the bag to Ginny, his eyes twinkling.

"Lemon drop?" he asked.

* * *

Two hours later Ginny felt spent. After Dumbledore had cleared the room, she had told him everything. The story of the Potters, Sirius being wrongly accused and committed to Azkaban, the Order of the Phoenix, the hunt for the Horcruxes, the Final Battle, all the deaths and of course how she ended up here.

"Exactly when am I Professor?" she asked curiously.

"It is August 1977 Miss Weasley" he told her.

Fingering the time turner that Ginny had given him, Dumbledore pondered all that he had been told. "I'm very sorry for your losses Miss Weasley, it looks as the future is not too bright" he continued.

"We can change that though, you know. I'm not sure but I believe your brothers and Harry Potter intended for this time turner to only travel one way. I don't believe that you are meant to go back" he explained gently.

She nodded with tears filling her eyes.

"I have come to that realisation. But what am I to do here? I have nothing, no home, no family" she muttered.

"Oh but you do my dear girl. Perhaps not the same as where you have come from, nothing can ever replace those we have lost. But they live on in you. You must be strong now" Dumbledore said as he gently picked up Ginny's hand.

"You said you were a sixth year at Hogwarts correct? Well that is where you shall start next month. You will come back to school to continue your education. You must live your life here now" he continued.

"But what about Voldermort, I promised Charlie I would come back and change things. The horcruxes - " she started to say.

"We will deal with all that in time" Dumbledore interrupted her.

"First we must get you settled here. Now I don't think it wise we use Weasley as your last name. You see there is a certain 1st year Gryffindor student who may become a bit confused at having another Weasley in Hogwarts, not to mention the Prewitt twins who are also coming into their 6th year this year"

"No" Ginny said happily.

"Bill and Fabian and Gideon?" she said excitedly, smiling for the first time since arriving.

"Yes my dear. Is there a surname that you feel comfortable using? It will need to be a pure blood surname as your magical energy will give away your pure blood status, one that does not bear any significance to your old life, that could not be called into question easily" he asked her.

Ginny pondered – of course Potter was not an option. Neither was Prewitt, Black, Lupin, Tonks, Longbottom, Lovegood. And suddenly she knew. An image of her sister in law on her wedding day flew into her mind. Delacour.

"Delacour professor. My sister in law was a Delacour and I believe I know enough of her family history that it could work. She had some English cousins who she never saw" Ginny said thoughtfully.

"Excellent. Ginevra Delacour it is. I believe that you and your brothers were from a small town in southern England and were home schooled along with a few wizarding families that were living near you. Was that correct?" Dumbledore asked smiling at her.

"Indeed Professor" she replied.

"Have you been through the bag that your brother left you yet?" he asked curiously.

Shaking her head Ginny looked at the bag that was next to her.

"I think that you should, you never know what you will find in there" he told her. "Now I believe that I need to talk to Matthew and Isabelle. They are founding member of the Order Ginny. I believe that they need to be told of your circumstances. I will only tell them that you have come from the Final Battle and what you have been through. I will not reveal who you are or anything about the future and it is imperative that you don't either".

"Professor, we will be able to change things won't we?" she asked referring to the future she had left behind suddenly fearful that it would all be for nothing.

"All in good time" he told her quietly.

"Now Madam Pomfrey has asked me to make sure you take this potion, I am told it will take care of the bruises and cuts left on you" he told her handing her a small vial filled with a green liquid.

Swallowing the potion and grimacing at the bitter taste, she handed the empty bottle back to Dumbledore. He then rose and gently let go of Ginny's hand.

"You will be safe here, I will be back to see you in the next few days" he explained and said farewell before leaving the room.

* * *

It was late, well after midnight but Sirius could not sleep. He was sure the girl, Ginny her name was he had been told, was asleep. He could not get her out of his head though. The look on her face when she had told them that Death Eaters had taken her family, it had cut close to home.

He hated his family. Being brought up in that house, with those people, had hardened him. Whilst not Death Eaters his parents were as good as. Pure blood, upper class – his parents believe it all. They thought that the Blacks were better than most others. And his younger brother Regulus followed his parents blindly, right into Slytherin house. Yet Sirius did not. Oh, what a disappointment Sirius had been, landing himself in Gryffindor. It has been the happiest moment in his life when the sorting hat had told him that he would do well in Gryffindor. Sirius liked muggles and had no problems with muggle borns and half bloods at all. Hell one of his best friends was a werewolf.

Creeping out of bed he made his way down the hall past James's bedroom to the room where Ginny was sleeping. Quietly opening the door he looked in on her and could hear her quiet sighs as she had a fitful sleep. Not surprising really, seeing as she had just survived an attack by Death Eaters. His eyes narrowing a little he knew there was more to what Matthew and Isabelle had told him and James over dinner. And he knew that the Marauders were just the ones to figure it out.

Softly closing the door behind him and walking back to his own room, little did Sirius know how right he was and just how much one girl was about to change their lives.


	3. Rock n Roll Train

Chapter Three - Rock n Roll Train

Sunlight streamed through the windows waking Ginny up and for a second she forgot where she was. It only took her a glance around the room for her to remember exactly where she was. Potter Manor. James Potters house, Harry's dads house. It felt weird even thinking about it, yet here she was.

Pretending to be more tired than she really was last night, Ginny had excused herself of company and had instantly sorted through the black bag that Charlie had given her before the time turner had taken her away from the Final Battle. What was inside amazed her and she was sure that Hermonie and Ron had helped plan this. Inside the bag was a small pouch that was obviously charmed to be feather light because it contained more galleons than she had ever seen. There was also a few of the coins that they had used last year in the DA to notify the students of the meetings. The coins still bore the last message – Hogwarts Final Battle. There was a small brown photo album which she had instantly focussed her attention on. There were photos of the Weasley family, of the siblings by themselves, of Harry, Ron and Herminie, of Ginny and Harry, of Ginny, Neville and Luna, of the DA, the Order and the list went on.

And finally there were two letters - one addressed to Dumbledore and one with no name on the front. Opening the blank envelope she discovered a couple of pieces of empty parchment. Confused she turned the parchment over to check the other side, there was still nothing. Her face scrunching up in frustration she picked up her wand and pointed it at the paper. Writing appeared instantly and Ginny's eyes widened in surprise as she read it.

_What is the password Gin?_

She immediately recognised the handwriting that appeared as Harrys. It only took her a split second to figure out what it would be. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good" she had whispered with a small smile gracing her lips.

The pages had filled with writing immediately and she had snuggled back into the pillow to read it.

_Dear Gin_

_If you are reading this now then everything has gone horribly wrong. It pains me to write this, let alone think about this, but if you are reading this then you must be one of the only one of us left alive and that brings me some comfort._

_Bill, Charlie and I had a contingency plan in case it all went wrong. If for what ever reason we failed, that we couldn't destroy all the Horcruxes in time and Voldermort won the Final Battle, we needed a way to correct our mistakes, to make things better. We didn't know that it would be you who would be sent back in time. This letter has been charmed to read the magical energy from you and the contents of the letter changed depending on which Weasley was left. _

_You will find a sack of money in this bag Gin. There are 20,000 galleons in it. Bill has charmed it so that only 100 galleons ever show at any one time. There are also some of the coins from the DA. This was Hermonie's idea. She thought they may be useful. There is also the Marauders Map. Use it well._

_I have sent you to my grandparents. This is my safe place. Dumbledore told me they were great people. You can trust them. Tell them what you must, they will look after you, I am sure of it. _

_You get to meet my parents Gin! I would of loved to of been there with you, to introduce you as my girlfriend one day, but we both know that can never be now. Become friends with them and with Sirius and Remus. I know how well you got on with them both in this time, I am sure that it will be no different in the past._

_Give the other letter to Dumbledore and tell him everything you know about the Horcruxes. His letter contains information on them as well as the Death Eaters and all the battles we know about._

_I want you to know that you got me through all this Gin. The search for the Horcruxes, all those months on the run. You were the last thing I thought of at night and the first thing in the morning._

_Do what you can Gin. Be careful of who you trust though. Destroy the Horcruxes and help the Order defeat Voldermort. Give yourself a fighting chance in your new life. We all love you so very much. Live for us Gin. _

_Yours always, Harry._

Tears had once again come to her and putting the letter back in the envelope she had cried herself to sleep.

Coming downstairs the next morning Ginny followed the sounds of laughter and arrived in what appeared to be a rather large dining room. Peering round the door she giggled when she saw James and Sirius mock fighting with swords that looked like they were made from napkins. The sound of her giggle made them both stop and turn to look at her.

"Ginny!" James said as he walked towards her. Grabbing her arm he pulled her into the dining room towards the table which had breakfast waiting on it.

Not to be outdone, Sirius rushed forward and pulled out a chair for her before bowing a saying "Milady".

Giggling again Ginny sat down in the chair and watched in amusement as James and Sirius rushed to the other side of the table and sat down side by side facing her.

"You look heaps better" Sirius told her. James nodding at his side.

"Thanks" she said smiling at them softly.

"Are you hungry?" Sirius spoke again, pushing a plate of croissants towards her.

"Starving" she admitted as she grabbed a croissant and began to nibble on it. She watched them both with interest as she took another bite of the croissant. Sirius seemed so much more carefree here. He didn't have that haunted look she had known him to have in the future. Realising that they had been staring at her whilst she had been staring at them she blushed, causing both boys to smirk.

"So did your parents tell you what happened to me?" she asked curiously.

Looking at each other they nodded. "Dad said that your family and some friends had been attacked by Death Eaters." James said carefully, conscious of upsetting her again.

"How did you escape?" Sirius asked curiously.

"My brother Charlie, he saved me" she said looking down at her hands. "He sacrificed his life for mine"

"Did you fight?" James asked her.

Shocked at his question she straightened her back and leant back in her chair. "Of course. I've been fighting since I was 14" she said thinking back to the last 18 months.

They looked at her expectantly and she again felt uncomfortable under their gaze. "I'd rather not talk about it right now" she said moodily.

* * *

The next week flew by and Ginny quickly became fast friends with both James and Sirius. It was remarkable just how much James and Harry were alike. She had often walked out of a room and caught herself as she gasped thinking she had just seen Harry, before quickly realising that it was James. Sirius surprised her as well. She genuinely enjoyed his company; he kept things light and often made her forget about all her past life – that was how she was referring to it now. It was refreshing to see him so carefree and she was immensely looking forward to meeting Remus and Lily. Though James and Lily were not yet together she had discovered.

Both Matthew and Isabelle Potter had accepted her into their lives very quickly. They had pulled her aside a few nights ago and they had discussed her new life here. "You will always be welcome here Ginny" Matthew had told her with Isabelle nodding beside him. "Potter Manor is to be your home and the wards have been adjusted to recognise you as such, as it does for James and Sirius".

They had discussed the future with her. Dumbledore had told them almost everything. Her real identity had been kept secret however, as it must he had told her.

"I know I'm not to talk of the future too much. But I guess it doesn't really matter too much now seeing as that future is pretty much gone. I want you to know you had a grandchild, he was a wonderful person" Ginny had told them, and that thought had warmed their hearts.

They had headed into Diagon Alley that week after receiving their Hogwarts letters. Ginny was going to be starting their sixth year and James and Sirius their seventh year, with James as Head Boy and Sirius as Quidditch Captain. Ginny needed everything. She stocked up on text books, potion supplies, clothes and new robes. But it was Quidditch shop that caught her eye. James and Sirius were eyeing off a new broom in the window and Ginny poked her head between them to look at it.

"A Cleansweep 6" Sirius said in awe. Ginny stifled a giggle thinking of the Firebolt from the future.

"Do you fly Gin?" he asked turning to her when he heard her giggle.

"A little" she admitted.

"Do you play Quidditch?" James asked excitedly wondering why they had not had this discussion yet. "Gryffindor needs a new chaser. Montgomery left Hogwarts last year and he will be hard to place."

An excited smile lit up Ginny's face and she grinned at James. "It just so happens I am an amazing Chaser" she said smugly.

"But you're a girl!" Sirius told her.

Turning to face him she put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Excuse me?" she asked. He sounded exactly like her brothers when she was younger and they wouldn't let her do anything in case she got hurt.

"I thought I'd find you two here" a male voice interrupted them and Ginny, Sirius and James turned to see Remus Lupin standing behind them.

"Moony!" James and Sirius said in unison, happy to see their friend.

Ginny simply stared. Of all the Marauders, Remus Lupin was the one she knew the best. Her heart broke a little as she thought of the last time she had seen him, his lifeless body lying next to Tonks.

"Remus" she breathed.

Looking at her curiously he offered her a small smile. "You must be Ginny" he said holding his hand out to shake hers.

Quickly grabbing his hand she offered him a wide grin. "These two have told me so much about you" she gushed, happy to see him.

Remus quickly glanced at James, raising his eyebrow at him. Surely James and Sirius would not have told her that he was a werewolf. James discreetly shook his head and Remus breathed a sigh of relief.

"It is really nice to meet you" Ginny told him, ignoring the silent exchange that had gone on. "It will be nice to know one other person in Gryffindor apart from these two. They have quite the ego" she said to Remus her eyes twinkling as she looked at Sirius and James.

"Hey!" James said mock angry as he reached out pulled him towards her and tickled her stomach. Laughing she spun away from him and stood next to Remus.

"What if you're not in Gryffindor?" Sirius asked suddenly.

She looked sharply at him, the thought had never occurred to her. Every Weasley had been in Gryffindor, it was where she belonged. "I will be" she said confidently tossing her hair over her shoulders.

"Now who wants an ice cream?" she asked glancing over at Florean Fortescue's ice cream shop.

Sirius, James and Remus watched her walk towards Fortescue's waiting until she was out of range before talking quietly to her. "Was her family really attacked by Death Eaters?" Remus asked them curiously.

"Yeah, she doesn't like to talk about it though" James told her.

"I'm not surprised" Remus said thoughtfully. "What did you say her last name was?" he continued.

"It's Delacour" Sirius piped up.

"She doesn't sound French" Remus said.

"She said that her dad was French but she and her brothers were born in England. She was home schooled apparently" James explained what his parents had told him and Sirius.

"Fair enough" Remus said thoughtfully. His mind working overdrive. He was constantly suspicious of people, a trait that he wasn't proud of. But the fact that he was a werewolf was not something he wanted everyone to know and as a result Remus did not trust easily.

He watched Sirius watch Ginny as she walked across the street to get an ice cream. A small grin coming to his face. Sirius Black did not do serious when it came to girls. He had a new date every other week. And they never lasted longer than a few days. He was a serial flirt and a heart breaker, they constantly told him this. Yet here Remus watched his friend as he eyed Ginny Delacour from a distance. Very interesting indeed, he thought.

Ginny eyed the ice cream flavours in front of her. White chocolate had always been her favourite. "I'll have one scoop of white chocolate with fudge sauce" a male voice ordered next to her.

She looked up surprised, that was what she was going to order. She caught the eye of a young man, he looked about her age with dark brown hair and eyes. He glanced at her curiously as he noticed her looking at him.

"White chocolate with fudge sauce is my favourite" she told him with a small smile.

Grinning at her charmingly he turned back to the counter. "Make that two"

"Oh you don't have to – " Ginny protested, but the boy interrupted her.

"It is my pleasure" he said smiling charmingly at her. "I haven't seen you are around before, you don't go to Hogwarts do you?

"No. I am starting there this year, I'm a sixth year. My name is Ginevra Delacour. But please call me Ginny" she said as they were both handed their ice creams.

"I'm Regulus Black" he said and was slightly confused when she looked at him shocked. "Are you okay?" he asked her, slightly uncomfortable with the way she was looking at him.

"Fine" she managed to stuttered, forcing herself to smile at him.

Sirius Black could not believe what he was seeing. His younger brother was standing next to Ginny, eating an ice cream with her. Growling under his breath he marched forward and grabbed her arm, yanking her out of the way.

"Hey!" she yelped in surprise. Turning to look at Sirius she felt momentarily scared by the look in his eyes. He was staring at Regulus with a look of utter hatred on his face.

"Sirius" Regulus said coldly looking at his brother.

James and Remus quickly approached the group and James put a hand on Sirius's arm that was still holding Ginny.

"Can you let go of me now please?" Ginny asked him looking down at his arm.

Pulling back from her immediately, Sirius again glared at his brother. "What are you doing here?" he asked him angrily. "Just becoming acquainted with the lovely Ginny here" Regulus said smirking at Sirius.

Looking between the two, Ginny swallowed and unconsciously took a step towards James and Remus. She knew that Sirius had his differences with his family, but this was bad. You could cut through the tension with the knife. "You are brothers?" she asked playing dumb trying to diffuse the situation.

Sirius turned to look at her standing next to James and Remus and his eyes softened slightly. "This is my younger brother, he's not worth knowing" he muttered.

"Let's go" he said to James and Remus whilst again grabbing Ginny's arm and walking off.

Frustrated with his behaviour she pulled her arm out of his grasp and turned back to Regulus. "Thanks for the ice cream" she said to him, causing him to smirk.

"It was my pleasure Ginevra. I'll look out for you at Hogwarts" he said before walking off.

"What the hell was that?" Sirius demanded of her.

"He just brought me an ice cream" Ginny explained.

Pulling the ice cream out of her hands he threw it into the nearest bin.

"Hey!" Ginny said angrily at the same time Remus said "Padfoot!"

"It was probably poisoned" he said angrily looking at Ginny.

"It was just an ice cream, I only met him at the counter. And besides what thinks you have any right to say who I can and can't be friends with?" she spat at him her temper boiling.

"He's a Slytherin Ginny, they are all the same"

And that was what made Ginny stop. It was prejudices like this that helped fuel the Death Eaters. Not all Death Eaters were Slytherin and not all Slytherins were Death Eaters. She had heard from Remus when he was teaching DA of how much Sirius and James hated Slytherins on site. "What if I'm put into Slytherin house? Are you going to hate me to?" she asked before heading off and leaving Sirius frustrated, James gaping at her and Remus watching her with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Remus turned to look at Sirius and James and could see how much Ginny had come to affect them in a short space of time. This was certainly going to be an interesting year.

* * *

Platform 9 and ¾'s was busy as usual as families and students arrived ready to head back to Hogwarts. Standing next to James and Sirius, Ginny looked around in amusement taking everyone in and wondering whom she was going to run into next.

"Are you sure you have everything?" Isabelle asked the three of them for the second time.

"Yes Mum" James and Sirius groaned in unison before making all of them laugh. Isabelle reached over to hug her son and Sirius telling them to not get into too much trouble.

"Who us?" James joked.

Turning to look at Ginny, Isabelle felt her heart break for the girl knowing all that she had been through. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked her gently.

Ginny nodded and smiled up at Isabelle. Suddenly feeling like she was saying good bye to her mother at the Platform, she forced back down a sob which was about to make its way out. Impulsively Ginny reached forward and gave Isabelle a hug. "Thank you so much for everything you and Matthew have done for me. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't arrived at Potter Manor" she admitted.

Pulling back from the hug Isabelle gave Ginny a kiss on the cheek. "You will always be welcome".

James watched the exchange with interest. He could tell how much his mother cared for Ginny in such a short space of time. "C'mon Ginny, we want to get a good compartment"

As Isabelle Potter apparated away, James put an arm around Ginny's shoulders and led her to the train whilst Sirius levitated their trunks behind them.

Walking down the corridor of the train they searched for an empty carriage. Walking in front of them was a tall witch with long red hair.

"Lily" James said happily making the witch in front of them turn around.

"Potter, Black" she nodded at them and glanced at Ginny her expression unreadable.

"Lily Evans" she said introducing herself to the red headed girl tucked under James's arm.

Ginny found herself staring into Lily's eyes. Harry really did have his mother's eyes. "Nice to meet you. I'm Ginny Delacour, I've heard SO much about you" she said glancing slyly at James who turned bright red whilst Sirius cracked up laughing.

"Are you new?" Lily politely enquired wondering what her relationship to James was, though knowing she would never ask.

"Yes, starting my sixth year" Ginny said smiling at her. She could tell by Lily's looks that she was curious about her. Ginny snuggled further into James's side and hid her grin when Lily's eyes narrowed slightly. She was jealous! This was going to be good, she thought. James and Lily would be together in no time if she had anything to say about it.

"Well I'm Head Girl this year, if you need anything then please don't hesitate to ask" Lily said before nodding at both boys and walked away.

Looking into the next compartment James found both Remus and another slightly overweight boy. As she entered Sirius leaned forward from behind and whispered in her ear. "Sneaky making Evans jealous like that". Ginny simply looked over her shoulder and grinned at him.

They had talked after the confrontation in Diagon Alley with Regulus. Sirius had refused to apologise for his behaviour. "You don't know what he is like" he had told her. Nodding her head she agreed with her. "You're right, but I'm my own person Sirius, I will choose my own friends". They had reached an easy truce after that, and the incident had not been brought up since.

Entering the compartment on the train she smiled upon seeing Remus and then looked at the remaining boy. Even though she knew it was coming she couldn't help but stiffen when she looked at Peter Pettigrew. Her hands clenched at her sides and she had to fight her instinct to grab her wand and hex him.

"Peter this is Ginny Delacour. Ginny, Peter Pettigrew" James said introducing the two.

"Hi" Ginny managed to spit out still standing up.

Feeling uncomfortable Ginny sat down next to Remus whilst James and Sirius chatted to Peter. Turning to look at Remus she was surprised to find him already watching her. He looked tired. Counting back she realised that there was a full moon two nights earlier. His clear blue eyes focussed on her and she felt like he could look at her and read her soul.

"Have you met Peter before?" he asked her quietly, glancing over to make sure the other three were not watching them.

Knowing that he had seen her reaction to meeting Peter she thought quickly. "No, he just reminded me of somebody" she said lying. "Are you okay, you look tired" she said quickly changing the subject.

"I am tired. Haven't been sleeping well" he admitted to her.

The train ride passed quickly and Ginny thoroughly enjoyed her time with Remus. It was interesting getting to know him as a teenager, rather than a Professor. It was a couple of hours later that Ginny found herself shivering despite the jeans and jumper she had been wearing. Looking around she noticed that Peter was dozing, Remus was reading a book and Sirius and James were playing exploding snap.

"It's gotten really cold in here" she said loudly, gaining the attention of the three boys. Walking over to the window she looked out and could not see more than a meter or two due to the thick fog. The sudden breaking of the train made her stumble and she fell into an empty chair.

"What was that?" James asked standing up.

Ignoring him Ginny quickly stood up and ran to the door pulling her wand out of her robe as she did. Yanking open the door she looked down the corridor and paled when she the lights out near the front of the train. Suddenly the screams of young children reached them. The first years! She thought. And then it got colder even still; how that was possible she didn't know.

"Dementors!" screamed a loud voice.

Turning back to the boys in the carriage she eyed them fearfully. "Wands out" she told them quickly.

They instantly pulled out their wands, Peter, who was now awake, a bit slower than the others.

"There are Dementors out there. We need to stop them before they come on the train Can any of you cast a Patronus charm?" she asked them urgently.

Shaking their heads they looked at her incredulously. "Can you?" Peter asked her awed.

Nodding she winced as she heard more screams from the first years.

"We have got to help them. You need to stay here, away from the Dementors" she cried turning to leave quickly.

Sirius reached out and grabbed her. "You're not going near them by yourself right?" he asked of her, worried what would happen.

"I have to" she cried as she entered the hallway, the boys creeping after her.

A lot of the sixth and seventh year students were standing in the doorways of the carriages, unsure of what to do.

"Ginny!" yelled Sirius as she started to rush forwards towards the screams of the younger students. Ignoring him she pushed on.

"Can anyone cast a Patronus?" she called out loudly, not expecting anyone to answer.

"I can" two voices chorused.

Ginny turned for a split second to glance in the direction the voices had come from. Not taking any time to pay attention to who had stepped forward. "Good, come with me" she ordered.

"Ginny!" she heard Sirius call again, but she continued to ignore him.

Creeping towards the front of the train she could hear footsteps behind her.

Opening the front door to the entrance of the train she shivered when she saw the group of Dementors surrounding the front of the train. Happy thoughts she thought to herself. And an image of a Weasley Christmas came to her. "Expecto Patronum" she yelled loudly and was glad to see a horse materialise from her wand and run towards the Dementors. Similar cries could be heard from directly behind her and she saw an eagle and a badger join her horse.

Her vision clouded slightly and she began to here more screams. Not first years she thought. But cries of horror. "Harry" they yelled, and she could here her cries in those voices. Suddenly she was back at Hogwarts watching Hagrid carry Harry's body out of the Forbidden Forest. Sudden fear gripped her and she knew the Dementors would be on her in any minute. "No" she said loudly to herself, trying to shake the memory off.

"Expecto Patronum" she yelled again and her horse once again exploded out of her wand. A couple of minutes passed as she cast the charm over and over until the Dementors finally gave up and flew away.

Mentally spent she allowed herself to fall to her knees.

"Are they gone? Will they come back?" the voices of the students cried as they started coming out of their compartments.

"They are gone" a male voice said from next to her.

Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she was about to look up, to see who had helped her by casting the Patronus charm. But she was stopped by Sirius, James and Remus blocking her view. James dropped to his knees in front of her and gently grabbed her face.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly seeing how pale she was.

Nodding she smiled weakly at him. "Chocolate, we need some chocolate" she said quietly.

Remus reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of chocolate frogs, handing one to Ginny and then he handed the other two behind him. Ginny gratefully ate the chocolate and got to her feet. Strong arms wrapped around her waist supporting her. Turning her head to look who had helped her she met Sirius's concerned gaze. "You're okay?" he asked her softly.

Nodding she allowed herself to relax against him. Curious as to who else could cast a Patronus.

"Who helped me?" she asked standing tall trying to see past James and Remus. Sirius loosened his grip on her waist a little as she stood on her toes to try and see but didn't let her go. Both James and Remus stepped aside and Ginny's eyes widened in shock. Standing there munching on the chocolate frogs that Remus had given them were Fabian and Gideon Prewitt.

Shrugging out of Sirius's hold she took a tentative step towards them. Utter joy filled her heart as she took in their red hair and blue eyes. It was like having Fred and George back again.

"That's a pretty strong charm to come from such a small person" one of the twins said smiling at her.

"Good things come in small packages" she said repeating the line that her mother had told her again and again.

"Our sister Molly says that all the time!" the other twin said.

Smiling broadly at them Ginny took a step closer and introduced herself. "I'm Ginevra Delacour, but you can call me Ginny".

"Delacour? Are you sure? You look like a Prewitt to me" one of them joked as he reached forward and pulled on a strand of her red hair. "I'm Gideon Prewitt and this is fine looking fellow is Fabian Prewitt" he said pointing to his twin.

"Thank you for helping me, I'm not surprised that it was Prewitt's that could cast a corporal Patronus" she told them thinking of how bravely her mother had told her how the twins had fought in the first wizarding war. "I don't know if I could have done it alone" she admitted.

"Of course you could have" Fabian said encouragingly.

Suddenly the train started moving again and everyone started to head back to their compartments.

"C'mon Ginny" Sirius said as they all walked back up the hallway. He stopped to place a hand on the twins' shoulders and thanked them.

"Wait" Fabian called after them as he and Gideon stopped at their carriage causing the rest of the group to turn around. "What year are you?" he asked Ginny curiously.

"I'm a sixth year" she said to him.

An identical grin lit up both twins' faces and Ginny could not help but smile in return.

"We will be seeing you again real soon Ginny Delacour" he said before the twins disappearing into their carriage.

After the drama of the train ride to Hogwarts, the rest of the day had passed with relative ease. She had been sorted into Gryffindor to the joy of James, Sirius, Remus and the Prewitt twins. Entering the sixth year girl's dorm Ginny was delighted to discover that it looked exactly the same as it did in the future. There were three other Gryffindor girls in their sixth year – Marlene McKinnon, a pure blood witch from Scotland; Rebecca White, a muggle born and Alice Jones, who Ginny figured out was Neville's mother.

"How come you have never come to Hogwarts until now?" Marlene asked her curiously as they were all getting ready for bed.

"I was home schooled with my brothers and a couple of other families who lived in our town" she explained.

"So what changed?" Alice asked.

Knowing that she should get this over with sooner or later she looked up at all three girls. "My family was killed by Death Eaters".

An uncomfortable silence took over the room as Ginny hopped into bed and pulled the covers up over here, well and truly ready for a good sleep.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Rebecca asked her trying to change the subject.

"Nope. Do any of you?" Ginny replied wanting to get to know her new housemates a little.

"Yep and he's a muggle. It makes it kind of hard" Rebecca said. "Alice is dating Frank Longbottom, he's a sixth year like us. And Marlene is single ".

"I don't have time for a boyfriend with quidditch, OWL's this year and being a prefect." Marlene explained.

"What position do you play?" Ginny asked curiously.

"She is the Gryffindor keeper, she's the best keeper in the school" Alice interrupted.

"I love quidditch. James told me that the team needs a new chaser. I used to play chaser" Ginny told them.

"You like quidditch?" Marlene asked excitedly.

"I love quidditch" Ginny corrected.

"Ginny, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship" Marlene her before rasing her wand and saying nox, allowing the lights in the room to go out.

**Authors note - Hope you all enjoyed the longer chapter. I'd love some reviews, would be interested to see what you think of the story so far. Thanks!**


	4. Building A Mystery

**Chapter Four – Building a Mystery**

Sirius Black eyed the four Gryffindors in front of him. A large crowd had come down to the quidditch pitch to watch the tryouts for the new chaser. It was his last year at Hogwarts and as Quidditch captain he was determined to the cup this year. Standing in front of him were two fourth years boys, a fifth year boy and Ginny. Catching her eye he winked at her and watched in delight as she blushed and looked away. "Alright let's get this started" he called, gathering everyone's attention. "I want to see you all fly up and down the length of the pitch and then let's see who can get 5 shots in" he said pointing to the hoops. All four of them, including Ginny, got on their brooms and circled the pitch. He watched as Ginny's hair flew behind her, catching the glow of the afternoon sunlight, looking like fire. She was impressive on a broom there was no denying it.

"She's good" James said from next to him as the rest of the team came to stand next to him. They watched as the three boys took their scoring shots – the fourth years scoring 4 and 3 respectively and the fifth year only scoring 2. "C'mon Ginny!" yelled a females voice from the crowd and Sirius and James turned round to see Rebecca, one of Ginny's dorm mates waving up at her.

Ginny glanced down at the crowd and waved back at Rebecca. Concentrate. You can do this, she told herself. Grabbing the quaffle she flew towards the keeper who was in front of the middle goal. Feinting to the right and left she quickly looped back around and scored her first goal. One down she thought grinning to herself. The other four quickly followed in succession. Feeling elated she flew to the ground and was quickly surrounded by the quidditch team and her dorm mates.

"That was amazing" Sirius said as he stepped forward to put a hand on her back. "Where did you learn to fly?" he asked curiously.

"When I was six years old, I used to sneak out of our hose and steal my brothers brooms for the garden shed and fly by myself" she explained grinning up at him. She really loved being in the air, there was something relaxing about being up there, feeling the breeze brush past you as you soared high above the ground.

"Alright, Ginny is our new chaser. She was the only one to get score 5 winning shots" Sirius yelled to the crowd. A few cheers could be heard and Ginny grinned again.

"Welcome to the team" two voices said from behind her and Ginny turned from Sirius to see who had spoken to her. Delighted she saw Fabian and Gideon standing behind her. "We're the beaters" Gideon told her.

They were interrupted by a small red headed boy, a first year Ginny thought by his height, running up to them. "Gideon! Fabian!" he cried out. The two boys grinned and each threw an arm around his shoulders. "Ginny this is our nephew Bill" they told her as the small boy offered a shy smile at her. "You were really good up there" Bill said to her. Frozen Ginny could only stare at Bill, horror and elation on her face at the same time. Bill was at Hogwarts! Why had she not thought of this earlier?

"Ginny?" Fabian said to her as she continued to stare at Bill in silence. Waving a hand in front of her face Fabian tried to get Ginny's attention.

"I'm sorry" she said trying to snap herself out of her thoughts. "It's lovely to meet you Bill, you'll have to excuse me" she said turning quickly and stumbling on her own feet. Catching herself before she fell, she watched the ground as she took a few hurried steps away from Bill and the twins. She couldn't deal with that now, not here in front of all these people. She ran into a hard chest and again felt herself stumbling, two strong arms reached out to steady her.

"Hey now, let's hope you're a bit more sturdy in out first match" a male voice said jokingly to her. Looking up she saw Sirius's face, his eyes lit up in merriment as he looked down at her. She gripped his arms tightly for a moment before taking a deep breath, trying to get her thoughts and emotions under control.

Confused by her behaviour, Sirius studied her face intently. She was stressed that much was obvious. "What's wrong?" he asked her gently, not letting go of her.

James, Remus and Peter arriving stopped her from saying anything. "Ginny that was great flying" Remus said to her and James and Peter voiced their agreement.

"Ravenclaw don't stand a chance next month" James told them grinning as he looked at Sirius. But Sirius had not taken his eyes of Ginny. Looking curiously between the two, James noticed that Sirius was holding Ginny by the arms. "Is everything okay?" he asked both of them.

Ginny took a step back and avoided looking at Sirius. "Fine, just a bit clumsy, tripping over my own feet" she said feeling a bit more under control.

"Ginny, what was –" Sirius began but was interrupted by Rebecca, Marlene and Alice running up and joining the group.

"Ginny, you were awesome" the girls cried as they hugged her and smiled. Sensing an opportunity to escape Ginny turned to Marlene. "Do you want to show me where the locker rooms are?" she asked, already knowing where they were but wanting to get away. The four girls walked off and Ginny turned to look over her shoulder giving the boys a small wave.

James again turned to look at Sirius to ask him what that was all about but he was still looking past them at Ginny. Later, he thought to himself.

* * *

It was later that night that Ginny found herself alone in the common room. She sat on one of the lounges under the window and looked outside at the darkened grounds. She could see clearly see the Forbidden Forest from where she sat. A million thoughts running through her head, she was jumbled with memories of the future and this time. This is going to be harder than she thought. She had met with Dumbledore that afternoon after the quidditch trials. Professor McGonagall had approached her at dinner and informed that Dumbledore had wished to see her in his office after dinner. They had discussed the Horcruxes, she had told him everything that she knew of them and he had shown her the letter that Harry had written for him, the one she had given him at Potter Manor.

"I believe we are looking for five horcruxes, in addition to Voldermort himself" Dumbledore had told her. "As Mr. Potter is not yet born and Voldermort does not have this Nagini yet" he continued.

"What one are we going after first?" Ginny asked him curiously.

"It is very important that these Horcruxes remain secret. The fewer people who know about them the better. I have only told one other of their existence" he said looking at her.

Nodding she agreed.

"I have already found the location of the Gaunt house. There is a strong magical energy there. I am sure that the ring is there. I will be leaving tonight to retrieve it"

"I want to come with you" she told him, leaving forward.

"No Miss Weasley. I believe that you should stay here. Until I have seen for myself the enchantments and protections surrounding it. I believe there will be very strong dark magic there".

"But – " she began ready to argue her case.

"No. Next time perhaps but until I know exactly what we are dealing with it is far safer for you to be here at Hogwarts" he told her. "Now I must be heading off shortly, so I suggest you head back to your common room. I believe you have double potions tomorrow morning with the Slytherins?" he asked her already knowing the answer.

"Yes sir" she said standing as he did.

"I believe you will enjoy the class, I see something in you Miss Weasley, some strong magic, whilst the knowledge that you carry of the future will defiantly help us it will not win this war. We will still need those who can fight. Enjoy your class tomorrow morning, try to get along with your lab partner, you will go far with them" he said cryptically.

Confused she smiled at him and turned to leave the office. One thing bothered her. "Sir who is the one person you have told about the Horcruxes?" she asked curiously.

"Uh that would be Professor Shackbolt" he told her. "He is a great Auror" he told her.

"You don't say" Ginny muttered to herself as she left his office.

Footsteps behind her drew Ginny out of her thoughts and she turned to look over her shoulder into the empty common room. Confused her saw no one but out of the corner of her eye she saw the portrait hole close.

"Hello?" she said softly knowing that someone was there.

Feeling as though somebody was watching her she quickly grabbed her wand and held it in front of her. "Show yourself" she called out.

The space in front of her shimmered and out of nowhere appeared Sirius and James's faces. "Boo" they yelled in unison causing her to shriek and jump back, falling into the lounge next to the window that she had previously been sitting on.

The boys laughed as they watched her eye them in shock. "Don't do that" she hissed at them.

Continuing to laugh, she watched them as the rest of their bodies appeared. "The invisibility cloak" she muttered to herself, gaining their attention.

"Have you seen one of these before?" James asked surprised. His father had given him this one in his fourth year. It had been in the Potter family for generations and had been passed down from father to son.

Ginny knew it was better to tell the truth as much as she could, to avoid being caught out in a lie later on. "Yes a friend of mine had one. His father had given it to him" she told them.

"Really?" James asked interested. "Was it a real one like this or an imitation. Dad said there are only 3 or 4 real ones in existence. What is your friends last name?"

"Oh, he is a half blood, you won't know the surname. He was killed in the fight that my family died in" she said, hoping that would bring an end to the conversation.

James and Sirius exchanged a look, always curious they wanted to know more about what happened to her when her family was killed.

"How many people died with your family?" Sirius asked her quietly. Ginny was an enigma to him. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to know about her. That made him slightly uncomfortable. Sirius Black did not chase girls, they came to him.

"A lot. Too many to count" she though an image of her parents bodies lying near Remus and Tonks flittered through her mind. "I'd rather not talk about it to be honest" she told them.

Frowning slightly Sirius decided not to push it. "You coming up to bed?" he asked her, it was getting late.

"Is that an invitation Sirius Black?" she asked smirking at him.

James snickered and Sirius smirked back at her. "For you Ginny always"

"As tempting as that sounds, I don't fancy being another notch on your bedpost" she said cheekily causing James to burst out laughing.

"Good night Ginny" James told her as he began walking up the stairs.

"Goodnight" she called back.

Walking up the stairs James paused and turned around when he realised that Sirius was not behind him. Turning to look back in the common room he watched with interest as Sirius had stepped closer to Ginny.

"Are you sure your okay? Sirius asked her quietly. "You seemed a bit funny out at the quidditch pitch today after the trials" he said.

"Perceptive aren't you" she told him quietly looking up at his face from her seat.

"You can trust me you know" he told her quietly, acutely aware that James was at the top of the stairs. Her brown eyes reflected the candle light in the dark common room. For a second he was mesmerised. He felt he could look right into her and see the secrets she held close to her heart.

She let herself watch him, knowing that he was trying to read her. It would be so easy to tell him everything, to have somebody other than Dumbledore to share this burden with. But what was she to say? Oh Sirius, you spent 13 years in Azkaban for the murder of Lily and James that Peter committed. Yeah, that would be a great conversation. No, she said to herself.

He watched her eyes flicker and something dark passed through her thoughts.

"I do trust you Sirius" she told him quietly.

Before he could comprehend what he was doing he reached forward and gently brushed his hand across her cheek, pushing one of her curls back behind her ear. You don't trust me enough, not yet he thought as he murmured a "Goodnight" and walked up the stairs meeting James on the landing. The two boys walked towards their dorm and James glanced a look at Sirius. Seeing the frown on his friends' face he chose not to say anything.

Ginny let out the breath she had been holding. Her skin tingled from where Sirius had brushed her cheek. Turning back to look out of the window she leaned forward and touched her forehead to the cool glass, trying to calm her racing heart.

* * *

"Welcome to Potions for your sixth year" Professor Slughorn announced to the Gryffindor and Slytherin students in the class. "I have taken the liberty of picking your lab partner for the year based on your OWL results from last year" he told them. Many of the students groaned, knowing that the two houses will be mixing.

"Great" Alice said from next to her. "I'm going to be stuck with Narcissa Black or somebody worse, I bet you" she complained to Ginny.

Interested Ginny turned to Alice. "Which one is Narcissa?" she asked curiously. Alice pointed to a blonde haired girl two rows in front of them.

"Miss Delacour" Professor Slughorn called from the front of the class.

"Yes?" she asked cautiously.

"Dumbledore has informed me that you are very good at potions. I have put you with one of my top students from Slytherin. Regulus Black" he told her. "Everyone else your pairs are as follows" and he read through the class list.

Ginny gathered her things, said a goodbye to Alice and sat down in the now empty space next to Regulus at the front of the class. "We meet again" Regulus said to her as she sat down next to him.

Turning to face him she offered him a small smile. "Looks like we have all year together"

"Indeed. I bet my brother will love that" he said smirking.

"Look Sirius is a friend of mine. I won't be caught in the middle of you two" she told him coolly.

"Relax Ginny, my brother and I don't get along. That is not going to change just because you are around now"

About to respond to him, Professor Slughorn interrupted her. "Now as a treat we have a pop quiz for you just to test your knowledge" he told them. Two hours later the class had finished and Ginny packed up her things, looking forward to lunch.

"Ginny wait" Regulus told her as she started to leave.

She turned to look back at him and waited whilst he hurriedly packed his things up.

"Alice I'll meet you at lunch" she called to her friend who was waiting at the door for her. Alice raised an eyebrow at Ginny after seeing that she was waiting for Regulus and then headed off.

Walking in silence out of the class Ginny and Regulus slowly headed to the Great Hall for lunch. "I heard that your family were killed" he said to her.

She looked at him surprised, she was not expecting to say that. "Yeah they were, almost two months ago" she said, hardily daring to believe that it had been that long already.

"And you survived?" he asked curiously watching her face for a reaction.

She nodded again but didn't offer any more information. Her mind was racing though. She didn't know much about Regulus in the future. She knew that he had become a Death Eater whilst he was still at Hogwarts, that he had somehow discovered the location of the locket horcrux and had turned against Voldermort and destroyed it with the help of Kreacher, his house elf. Yet it was the complexity of his relationship with Sirius that she wanted to know more about.

"Why don't you and Sirius get along? Is it because he is in Gryffindor?" she asked him.

Sighing Regulus ran a hand through his hair. "It's complicated. Sirius doesn't believe in the right things" he told her again carefully watching her face for a reaction.

"And what are the right things?" she asked him stopping as they reached the entrance to the Great Hall.

Knowing that he had said too much, he shook his head and simply opened the door to the hall gesturing for her to go in ahead of him.

"Never mind" he muttered as they walked in. About to head off over to the Slytherin table he turned to glance at the Gryffindor table. He caught Sirius's eyes and smirked at him, chuckling to himself when he saw his brothers' eyes narrow. "I'll see you in Charms tomorrow" he said as he briefly touched her arm before heading over to the Slytherin table.

* * *

Alice smiled when she saw her boyfriend, Frank Longbottom, talking to the Marauders. Annoying and arrogant at times the Marauders were loyal Gryffindors, and loyalty was something that Alice treasured. Walking up to meet them she wrapped her arms around his waist and he looked down smiling at her and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Boys" she said nodding at the Marauders.

"How was potions?" he asked her.

Groaning she screwed her face up. "Slughorn decided to pair us off with the Slytherins, both Ginny and I got suck with a Black" she told him.

"What?" Sirius asked her.

"I got partnered with Narcissa and Ginny got partnered with Regulus" she explained to them.

She watched as Sirius's face hardened and James and Remus exchanged a concerned look. "Great" Sirius muttered.

"Can we go and eat now? I'm starving" Peter said oblivious to the conversation that had just taken place. "Great idea Wormtail" James said leading them into the Great Hall. Saying goodbye to Frank they took a seat at the Gryffindor table.

Sirius clenched his fists at the table. Where was Ginny? He had seen most of the sixth year Gryffindors come in and she still wasn't here. The door to the Great Hall opened and in came Regulus followed by Ginny.

Remus who was sitting next to Sirius saw this and watched Ginny to make sure she was okay. Though not as much as Sirius, he to was concerned when he heard that Ginny had been partnered with Regulus. He watched them separate and cringed when Regulus put his hand on Ginny's arm and smirked at Sirius. He knew it was to just annoy them.

Oblivious to this Ginny grinned as she approached them. "Hi" she said happy to see them.

"How was potions?" Sirius asked her getting straight to the point.

Ginny raised an eyebrow at him. How could he possible know already that she had been partnered with Regulus? She looked at the others and focused in on Alice sitting next to Peter. Sorry, she mouthed at her. "Professor Slughorn assigned our lab partners Sirius, I had no say in it" she retorted.

Knowing that she was right didn't help, it just made him more agitated. "Whatever" he spat at her before storming out of the Great Hall without eating lunch.

Remus smiled sympathetically at her. "It's hard for him" he explained to her not wanting to go into more detail with all the people around. Nodding Ginny didn't respond she simple grabbed a sandwich from in front of her and took a bite, glancing at the entrance to the Great Hall.

* * *

She had study hall for her last period of the day and had intended to do some homework but she could not concentrate. Dumbledore had left almost 24 hours ago to retrieve the ring from the gaunt house and had not returned yet. Worry began to seep into her thoughts. Had something happened? Kingsley she suddenly thought. She threw her books and parchment in her bag and flew out of the common room down the halls and into the Defence Against the Dark Arts room. Not even bothering to knock, she pulled open the door and walked into the room. She stopped short when she saw it was full of seventh year Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students. She was not deterred though. Her eyes quickly found Sirius and Remus sitting at a desk in the middle of the classroom with Remus and Peter in front of them. She nodded at them.

"Miss Delacour?" Kingsley called from the front of the room.

She quickly walked down the classroom forcing herself not to look at the Marauders again. "I'm sorry for interrupting Professor, but I need to speak with you immediately" she told him urgently.

"Come into my office" he said pointing to the door behind him. Ginny nodded and entered the room closing the door behind her.

"The rest of you please read pages 30 – 35 in your text books. Keep the talking down" he told them before following Ginny into his office.

"Professor, have you heard from Dumbledore since he left yesterday?" she asked immediately.

"Dumbledore has returned. He is in the hospital wing I believe" Kingsley told her. "We should not speak of this here" he said motioning to the class outside the room.

"Is he okay? Did he recover the ring?" she asked quietly ignoring what he had said.

"You need to have this discussion with Dumbledore, I am sure he will send for you when he is back in his office"

"Please Professor" she begged.

Sighing he nodded to her. "It has been recovered. I really must get back to the class" he told her as he shepherded her out of his office and back into the classroom.

"But Professor –" she said quietly not wanting to draw too much attention to them.

"That will be all Miss Delacour" Kingsley said sharply to her.

Frustrated she nodded at him and again tried to ignore the Marauders as she left the classroom. Sirius however had other ideas, he reached out to brush her arm as she walked past a questioning look on his face, in fact all four of them were looking at her with that look on their faces.

Later, she mouthed at him, knowing that she would have to think of something to tell him.

Ginny raced back to the common room and waited to hear word from Dumbledore. An hour or so laster the Marauders entered the common room. Remus was the first to notice her and he nudged Sirius and James. They immediately headed over to where she was sitting. Peter simply looked at Ginny and gave her a small wave before heading upstairs.

"Hi Ginny" Remus said as he sat next to her. Sirius and James sat on the chairs opposite and dropped their bags on the floor.

"What was that about with Professor Kingsley?" James said getting straight to the point.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable under their gazes she gave them the lines that she had rehearsed.

"I wanted to talk to him about some extra credit work. I am going to be having a private lesson with him once a week on defensive spells" she told them. And it wasn't entirely a lie. She was having lessons once a week, just not with Kingsley but rather with Dumbledore. Though Kingsley was going to be helping her with defensive magic.

"Why?" James asked her.

"Because the next time I get attacked by Death Eaters I want to be able to kill them" she told them her voice cold.

The three boys exchanged looks. "Ginny, I uh don't think there is much chance of you getting attacked again" Remus told her gently as he patted her knee.

She gave a bitter laugh and said, "There is a war coming. You can deny it all you want but Voldermort is out there and he is gaining strength every day".

"You say his name?" Sirius asked her quietly. Nobody called him Voldermort, everyone used he who must not be named.

"Fear of a name increases fear of a thing itself" she told them.

The portrait hole opened and in came Dumbledore himself with one hand bandaged. Everyone in the room quietened down and looked at him. "Good afternoon Gryffindors" he said pleasantly as if it was everyday that he appeared in the common room.

"Miss Delacour are you free for a moment?" he asked joyfully looking at Ginny in the corner with the three boys.

"Yes Professor" she said immediately jumping up and following him out of the portrait hole.

Remus looked at Sirius and James mystified. "Ever get the feeling that there is more to Ginny than meets the eye?" he asked them.

"All the time" Sirius and James chorused.

* * *

Once settled in Dumbledore's office he opened his top drawer and pulled out the ring placing it on his desk. Sliding it forward he leaned back and looked at Ginny.

"It is quite safe now, I have removed the horcrux" he told her.

"Is that how you hurt your hand?" she asked him as she picked up the ring.

Nodding he smiled at her. "Nothing that won't heal in time"

She held the ring closer to her face to get a better view. Putting it back on the desk she grinned at Dumbledore.

"One down, four to go" she said happily.

****Author's note - Really hope you are enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it. Please send review with your thoughts. Thanks!****


	5. In the Air Tonight

**Chapter Five – In the Air Tonight**

_***Thanks everyone for your reviews. Please keep them coming! Glad to see that you are enjoying the story. The more you review the quicker I will get these chapters out xx***_

Coming back from the dungeons after pranking the Slytherins James, Sirius and Remus were laughing. Pleased that they had managed to charm the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Slytherin common room to chant "I love muggles" all night long.

Remus was tired, it wasn't too late in the evening yet but it was going to be a full moon in five days and he was already feeling the strain of his upcoming transformation. He hated being a werewolf. It was all so unfair. He hadn't asked to be bitten but he had been and he was worried what this might mean for his future. Dumbledore had been kind enough to organise things so he could come to Hogwarts, so he could get an education but others were not as kind. Lycanthropy was frowned upon in wizarding society. Many felt that all werewolves were dark creatures that were not to be trusted. He was worried what the future would hold for him once he left Hogwarts – would he be able to get a job? Could he find a woman who would want to be with him? Could he even have children? He would never admit it to Sirius and James but these things frightened him. He sighed heavily as they left the dungeons and rounded a corner about to head up the stairs.

"Alright Moony?" Sirius asked glancing at his friend.

A loud chuckle appeared from behind them and all three Marauders turned suddenly to see where the voice had come from. Severus Snape stepped out of the shadows and sneered at the thee Gryffindors. "Is the little wolf tired?" he said coldly. "It is getting to be that time again, full moon is only a few days away"

Remus started at him in anger. Snape was smart there was no denying it. He had figured out that Remus was a werewolf in their fourth year. Sirius and James had threatened him with bodily harm to keep him quiet and so far it had worked. But every now and again Snape took a swipe at him when nobody was around, and today was no different. Or so they thought.

"You keep your mouth shut Snivellius" Sirius said as he stormed forward pointing his wand at Snape.

Snape simply glared at him. "Ever the predictable Gryffindor aren't we Black? Such a disappointment to your family" he sneered at him.

Sirius raised his wand to curse Snape but James beat him to it. "Levicorpius" he yelled and Snape found himself being dangled upside down, an invisible hand holding him up by one leg.

Refusing to give them the satisfaction of backing down, Snape glared at all three boys. "It would be such a shame if your dirty little secret got out wouldn't it Moony? Don't want the school to know you're a werewolf now do we" he laughed using the nickname they boys had given each other.

Coming down the stairs Ginny Weasley froze when she heard voices. Immediately recognising Sirius's angry voice she rushed forward to see what was going on and trying to place the second voice.

Turning the corner she froze. There was Sirius and James standing in front of a boy who was hanging upside down. Remus was off to the side, standing next to a portrait with an upset look on his face. The boy who was up in the air was the first to notice her. "It would be such a shame if your dirty little secret got out wouldn't it Moony? Don't want the school to know you're a werewolf now do we"

He looked at Ginny and she gasped, that was Severus Snape. She rushed forward a few steps fighting the urge to pull out her own wand and hex him. He was a traitor; he killed Dumbledore and helped Malfoy escape.

Her footsteps drew the attention of Sirius, James and Remus. Remus looked at her in horror, his face paling and her heart went out to him. It's okay she wanted to tell him, but she knew she couldn't.

"Ginny" breathed James as he looked at her worriedly.

They were all frozen in place for a second till Sirius marched forward and roughly grabbed her arm. He stood so close to her that she could feel his warm breath on her face. His eyes searched hers and she knew that he knew that she had heard what Snape had said. Sirius groaned loudly.

"You heard?" he asked her and she found herself unable to speak.

She simply nodded.

James swore and took the curse off Snape and he fell to the floor. Standing up he shook of his robes and glared at them all before walking away. None of the boys looked at him; they were all focussed on Ginny.

"You don't say a word to anyone. Ever" Sirius told her quietly as he squeezed her arms a bit tighter. She squirmed a bit trying to get free from his grasp. "Your hurting me," she told him and he immediately dropped his arms taking a step back from her.

She turned to look at Remus and her heart dropped a little seeing the scared expression on his face. She quickly walked towards him and frowned as he dropped his eyes and looked at the floor as she approached.

"Look at me Remus" she said quietly.

He lifted his head and looked in her eyes, expecting to see revulsion on her face. He knew she would be running away screaming in a minute. Instead what he saw there surprised him. He saw compassion and understanding, in fact he would swear later on when he thought about it some more that she looked like she already knew about him, but that wasn't possible right?

Ginny grabbed both his hands and pulled them up, resting them on his chest. "Trust me Remus, nobody will ever hear it from me" she said quietly.

Shocked Remus found himself fighting to keep down a sob. It would do him no good to get upset now. Again Ginny felt her heart break a little. The Remus from the future never seemed this unsure of himself. Impulsively she threw her arms round him in a hug. Remus's eyes widened over her shoulders as he stared at Sirius and James. They too were shocked into silence.

"It doesn't matter what you are, it's who are that counts" she whispered to him. "Trust me" she said again. Pulling back from him she looked him squarely in the eye. He nodded at her once, still unable to speak. Grinning she turned around to face Sirius and James, she knew how protective they were of each other. "Now, what were you three doing in the dungeons anyway?" she asked them knowing they would have been up to no good here.

The group of four headed back up to Gryffindor common room. James and Remus walking slightly ahead of Ginny and Sirius. She knew that Sirius wanted to talk to her, she could tell by the way that he kept sneaking glances at her. Stopping she realised they were on the last corridor before reaching the common room. "Sirius whatever you – " she began before he pushed forward, covering his mouth with her hand and forcing her into an open door. Before she knew what was happening the door behind her had closed and Sirius had her pressed up against a hard wall.

"Sirius" she said breathlessly taking in the look in his eyes. They were dark with desire. He didn't say a thing to her but simply leaned forward and placed his lips on hers. She froze momentarily to stunned to do anything. Sirius gently bit her bottom lip demanding entry and that was all it took. She reached up and roughly pulled his head closer, opening her mouth and allowing his tongue to enter her mouth. He groaned in desire and pushed her further into the wall moulding his body to hers. Their tongues battling each other for dominance. Ginny felt alive. There was no other way to put it. Sirius ran his arms down her frame and stopped at her hips. He harshly pulled her against him and she could feel every part of them touching. And yet it still wasn't enough. She wanted to be closer. She stood on her toes, never breaking from the kiss and wrapped one leg around his waist pulling him closer still. "Ginny" he hissed in pleasure.

Air she thought. I need air. Reluctantly they broke apart and they both took in short sharp breaths. Ginny leaned her head forward and rested her forehead on his as she tried to steady herself. She shoved against his chest lightly and Sirius took the hint stepping away. Silence filled the room as they simply stared at each other.

Sirius suddenly nervous ran a hand through his unruly curls as he continued to look at her. Her hair was messed up, her cheeks were red and her lips looked like they had just been kissed. He grinned internally; well you have just kissed her he told himself.

"Well that was interesting" he said smirking at her causing her to blush even more.

"We should head back to the common room" she stuttered feeling self-conscious under his gaze. Walking past him quickly she opened the door and hurried out into the hallway. Sirius quickly followed her and they were at the portrait hole within a minute.

"Whomping Willow" Ginny muttered and the portrait hole opened and she scrambled in quickly, determined to put some space between her and Sirius. But he had other ideas. Reaching out he grabbed one of her arms and gently turned it over so that her palm was facing upwards. He traced her hand with his fingers gently up to her elbow and gave her a soft squeeze. "Sweet dreams" he said softly.

She couldn't look at him so she did what any girl would do in her position. She pulled her arm from his grasp and hurried through the common room and up to her dorm, blushing the whole way.

* * *

Lily Evans was usually a confident girl. She was Head Girl, she studied hard and enjoyed her classes and had a strong group of friends. Yet lately she had begun to feel unsure of herself. Since she had started at Hogwarts she had always found James Potter to be arrogant and rude. He had asked her out a number of times since their fifth and she had rejected him every time. Yet since the train ride to Hogwarts last month, when she had seen James and Sirius with the new student, Ginny Delacour, she had become slightly unhinged. She had tried so hard not to think about it, she had thrown herself into her studies yet that one memory of the red headed girl tucked under James's arm had stayed with her.

Get a grip she had told herself. But she couldn't help it, James Potter had invaded her every though and unfortunately Ginny had to. The Marauders had taken her under their wing it had seemed. When she wasn't in classes or hanging around with the other sixth years she always seemed to be in the presence of James, Sirius and Remus. And that bothered her. So that was what brought her to this moment. It was a Saturday morning and Lily was marching across the grounds to where Ginny was walking with Rebecca and Marlene. Approaching the group she smiled, quickly pushing away the thought her nervousness. Marlene was the first to notice her. "Hi Lily" she said smiling at the older girl. "Is this about the prefect meeting tomorrow?" she asked her.

Shaking her head Lily offered her a small smile. "No, I was hoping that I could speak to Ginny privately" she said quietly. Ginny met her gaze and raised an eyebrow in question. "Sure" she said cheerfully taking a step towards Lily.

"I'll see you two later?" she asked Rebecca and Marlene.

The two groups of girls separated and Lily and Ginny slowly turned and walked towards the Great Lake. Lily glanced at Ginny out of the corner of her eye and was surprised to find her already looking at her.

"So.." Ginny began with a smile on her face.

"How are you settling into Hogwarts?" Lily blurted out quickly rushing to say something that would fill the silence.

"Somehow I don't think you sought me out to ask me how I am settling into Hogwarts" she said laughing.

The two girls stopped walking and stood at the shore of the lake. The surface was calm and both girls watched as the clouds overhead were reflected in the clear water.

"I uh – I wanted to ask you about James" Lily managed to get out. She nervously played with the side of her robes, not wanting to look at Ginny.

Ginny wanted to burst out laughing. It finally seemed that Lily was starting to have feelings for James. She turned around the tease the girl but her voice died in her throat. Ginny took a sharp breath as she recognised the look on Lily's face. Her eyes were wide and begging, she looked nervous, so unsure of herself. She had seen that look on Harry's face many times. "I'm not dating James Lily" Ginny said taking pity on the girl.

Lily's head snapped back around to meet Ginnys, a smile lighting up her face. "Really?" she asked her.

"Really" Ginny smiled back. Her thoughts briefly drifting to the kiss that she had shared with Sirius the previous night. "In fact I'm going to help set you and James up" she went on.

And that was what started the friendship between Lily and Ginny. The girls sat down on the shore of the lake and talked for over an hour, both sharing stories of their family and friends. Ginny was sure she never said too much. "So which one of the Marauders has caught your eye?" Lily asked Ginny jokingly. A gentle blush creeped up Ginny's face.

"Ginny?" a male voice said from behind them and both girls turned to see Remus standing behind them and a few feet behind him were Sirius and James.

The two girls looked at each other and laughed. What perfect timing, Ginny thought. Standing up Ginny smiled up at Remus and noticed how nervous he looked. Lily looked between the two and winked at Ginny.

"Potter!" Lily said walking past Remus to get to James and Sirius. "We need to talk about next months schedule for monitoring the halls" she said to him, glad to have a reason to talk to him.

Ginny briefly looked past Remus to the others and found herself staring at Sirius. He winked at her and she blushed knowing that he had been caught staring.

"Remus?" she asked quietly turning back to him.

"Can we walk for a bit?" he asked her as he put an arm on the small of her back and led them away from the others.

They walked in a comfortable silence for a while. Both enjoying being out in the sun. Winter was on its way and soon the grounds would be covered in rain and snow. "Thank you" he said to her quietly.

"You don't have to thank me Remus, I told you I won't tell anyone. That is not going to change" she said referring to him being a werewolf.

"It's hard for me to trust people" he admitted.

Ginny gently reached out and took his hand as they continued to walk, giving it a gentle squeeze. Maybe she could trust Remus she thought. Trust him with everything? Not yet, she told her. She knew his loyalties lied with Sirius and James. But there was no reason why she couldn't tell him some things. "My oldest brother Bill he was attacked by a werewolf. My family have fought Death Eaters on more than one occasion and one day a few of them showed up with a werewolf, it wasn't a full moon though when they attacked though. Bill was lucky I guess. He had these scars on his face and arms from the attack. They were cursed and could not be healed." She told him.

"Really?" Remus asked shocked, he was not expecting her to say that.

Nodding she smiled at him. "He could only eat his meet rare after that as well" she said giggling slightly.

"How many brothers did you have?" Remus asked her curiously. It was rare that Ginny would open up about her family.

"Six older brothers. I was the youngest of seven. And the first girl born in seven generations. I'm supposed to be special I guess. Lucky is more like it" she thought thinking that she was the only one left. "Bill was the oldest, he was a curse breaker for Gringotts, then there was Charlie, he worked with dragons in Romania. Charlie was the one that got me out of the battle, he got me to safely" she said quietly.

"You don't have to talk about it" he told her.

"No it's okay. It about time I did. Next came Percy, he worked at the Ministry and there was the twins, Fred and George. They loved practical jokes, they would of loved to meet the Marauders" she chuckled. "And finally Ron, he was a year older than me".

"Big family" he commented. "I'm an only child" he continued.

Ginny nodded but didn't say anything.

"You said that your family had been attacked by Death Eaters more than once?"

"Yeah" Ginny sighed. "It was pretty well known that my family didn't support Voldermort. In fact my parents and eldest brothers were members of the Order" she said. And then suddenly stopped. Was she telling him too much?

"The Order of the Phoenix?" Remus asked surprised.

"Yeah" she said cautiously. "Can I ask you about Sirius?" she asked him changing topics.

Nodding Remus ran a hand through his hair.

"What happened between him and his family?" she asked curiously.

"The Blacks are one of those families that think being a pure blooded wizarding family is the only way to be. Anybody who thinks otherwise is punished. Sirius was often punished as a child. It doesn't help that Regulus who heartedly supports his parents ideals" he explained to her.

"So he ran away?" she asked.

"At the end of his fifth year he never returned home. His parents cut him off from his inheritance, from everything. The Potters took him in and he has never looked back"

"Hmm" she said to herself thinking.

"Ginny, Sirius doesn't have anyone except James, Peter and I. He's one of my best friends and I care him a lot, but he's not the greatest at treating women well" he continued.

"Remus, I – " she began.

"No" he said cutting her off. "I've seen the way he looks at you. And the way he reacts when he sees you with Regulus. There is something there for him Ginny. And he will chase you until he catches you".

Laughing Ginny turned to look at him. "I'm a big girl Remus, I've dealt with worse things than Sirius Black" she jokingly.

"I'm serious. Just be careful okay?" he implored her.

* * *

After dinner Ginny had gone for a walk by herself, wanting some time to clear her head. Tonight she was pondering, she had not heard from Dumbledore in almost a week and she wanted to get more of the Horcruxes destroyed.

Shadows walking ahead of her caught her attention. She could make out three figures. Male probably by their height. What were they doing up here she though curiously. They were on the third floor and there were no classrooms along this way. In fact there was nothing along this way except for the one eyed witch statue she thought excitedly. She quickened her pace until she could see them and grinned. In front of her were James, Sirius and Remus. She watched as Sirius tapped his wand to the statue and a passage way appeared behind it. Sirius and Remus quickly disappeared and James was about to follow them when he heard footsteps.

"James" Ginny hissed as she rushed forward.

Surprise lit up his face when he saw her. "What are you doing here?" he said quietly looking past her to see if anyone else was with her. Without waiting for a response he reached forward and grabbed and pulled her after him into the passageway. The hole quickly closed behind them.

They were surrounded by darkness until somebody in front of her said Lumos. A soft light appeared from the end of a wand and she quickly repeated the chant with her own wand.

Looking to where the light had come from she saw James and Remus standing side by side.

"Hello love" a warm breath whispered into her ear. She shrieked and jumped immediately turning to the voice and saw Sirius laughing at her.

"Don't do that!" she told him, frowning when he just smirked at her.

"How did you find us?" James said curiously.

"I didn't, I was just walking the halls and saw the three of you ahead of me" she told him. "What are you doing anyway?" she asked curiously.

"We are going to Hogsmeade. You'll be coming with us now" Sirius said as he nudged her in the side. Again she turned to face him and said "What if I don't want to come with you?"

"Of course you want to come with us. Who would want to pass up time with us?" Sirius said acting all shocked.

And off they went. The passage way took them to Honeydukes and they quietly crept out and snuck into the nightly crowd. Heading into the Three Broomsticks they slid into a booth. Very little had changed in Hogsmeade in 20 years thought Ginny. Suddenly a blonde woman was standing in front of them.

"Sirius Black and James Potter, what are you doing here?" she asked and Ginny found herself looking at a younger Rosmerta.

"Here to see you of course" Sirius said winking at her causing her to laugh.

"How about some fire whiskey Rosie?" James asked smiling charmingly at her.

Again she laughed. "How about a Butterbeer? I know not one of you is 18 yet" she retorted, causing both boys to groan. Looking at the other two occupants she nodded at Remus and glanced curiously at Ginny.

"This couldn't be the famous Miss Evans could it?" she asked James, causing him to blush. And this time Ginny and Remus joined in on the laughter.

"I'm Ginny Delacour" she said smiling. She liked this younger version of Rosmerta.

Rosmerta did a double take. "Delacour?" she asked. "I've never seen a red headed Delacour before. Do you know a Philippe Delacour?"

For a moment Ginny froze, aware that all eyes were on her. Fleur's father she thought to herself. Forcing a smile on her face Ginny nodded back at Rosmerta. "He is a distant relative, he lives in Southern France" she told her.

Seemingly appeased Rosmerta left them to get a round of drinks.

"Dumbledore has decided to have a New Years Eve Ball" James told them suddenly. "He told us all yesterday at the Prefects meeting"

"Great, now I have to find a date" Remus groaned.

"You'll have no problems, I'm sure" Ginny said from across him and she reached out and gave his hand a gently squeeze.

Their drinks were brought back to them and they each reached forward to grab one.

"Will you ask Lily James?" Ginny asked curiously.

James sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "What's the point? I've been asking her out since fifth year and she has turned me down ever since" he said glumly.

"Well I've been getting to know Lily a bit and I think tomorrow would be a great time to as her to the dance" she said her eyes twinkling at him.

"Really? Ginny what do you know?" James said sitting up straighter.

"Well a little birdie may have told me that Lily's feelings towards you are beginning to change" she said coyly.

Both Remus and Sirius laughed as James chocked on a mouthful of his drink.

She was acutely aware of Sirius sitting next to her. He had moved his leg so that their knees were touching each others under the table. She suddenly felt his hand on her thigh. He was tracing circles just above her knee and slowly moving his hand higher and higher. Her skin buzzed under her jeans and she could not concentrate on anything else but the feeling of his hand on her. "Ginny!" Sirius said sharply trying to get her attention. Shaking her head she tried to concentrate on what he was saying, "Sorry?" she asked.

"I said who were you planning on taking to the ball?" he said smirking at her knowing full well the effect that he was having on her.

She reached under the table and pinched his thigh causing him to jump and remove his hand from hers. Of no Sirius Black, you do not get to affect me that easily she thought.

"Well there is a couple of boys on the Ravenclaw quidditch team who have caught my eye" she said smirking at Sirius before turning back to Remus and James and smiling widely.

The four of them stayed there for another hour or so just enjoying each other's company. They said goodbye to Rosmerta and started to head back towards Hogwarts.

"Where is Peter?" Ginny asked curiously. He seemed to be hanging around with the other three less and less.

"Peter has got himself a girlfriend. A sixth year in Hufflepuff" Remus told her.

They had reached the end of street and were heading back towards the Shrieking Shack, with Honeydukes now closed they didn't have a choice. They walked in silence as they headed up the hill. A soft popping sound alerted Ginny to the fact that somebody had apparated near them, again and again she heard them. Stopping suddenly she looked around warily for any sign of them. The boys had also heard them. "Can you see anybody?" she whispered quietly. Her eyes darting through the empty fields. A sudden movement caught her eye and she saw six bodies move out of the tree line. She momentarily froze when she the moonlight reflect off their masks. She quickly pulled out her wand, her eyes not leaving the dark figures. As far as she could tell they had not seem them yet.

"Death Eaters" one of the boys breathed. They too quickly pulled out their wands. But the movement had been enough, three of the Death Eaters turned in their direction and moved in unison towards them, the other three headed into Hogsmeade.

Hogsmeade had been attacked a number of times in the first war Ginny remembered. She hadn't of known when though. How stupid could she of been! "Run!" she yelled at the others and they took off towards the Shrieking Shack. Curses were cast from behind them and they dived to the ground to avoid being hit. Ginny whirled around to face them and was worried to see three Death Eaters less than 15 meters from her. "Stuptify!" she yelled loudly casting a curse at one of the Death Eaters. It was easily dodged though and Ginny found herself suddenly surrounded by Sirius, James and Remus.

"Well well what do we have here, little Hogwarts students away from the castle?" a female voice cackled at them.

Ginny would recognise that voice anywhere, and so it seemed did Sirius.

"Bellatrix" they both chorused in unison.

"Sirius Black" the Death Eater in question took off her mask and stepped forward.

"Reducto" Ginny yelled before anyone could stop her and the spell flew past Bellatrix hitting one of the other Death Eaters in the chest.

"Impressive little witch. Who are you?" Bellatrix said still holding her wand forward.

The other Death Eater had his wand pointing at James and Remus. A spell was suddenly shot and Remus dropped to the ground in pain. James yelled angrily and shut a stunning spell at the Death Eater, he easily jumped out of the way and the two began to dual.

"Such a disappointment aren't you Black?" Bellatrix laughed whilst watching James get hit with a curse.

"James!" Sirius yelled before rushing to his friend and he too shot curses at the other Death Eater.

"Expelliarmus!" Ginny yelled and again Bellatrix dodged the curse. The two women began to duel. Spells flew back and forth and the dark night sky was lit up with red, green and yellow light as the spells hit the ground. Bellatrix laughed loudly as a cutting curse hit Ginny in the left arm. She hissed in pain and clutched her arm before responding in kind.

"You bitch!" Ginny yelled in anger and with renewed energy she threw curse after curse. Bellatrix's eyes widened as she saw the power behind the curses. This little red headed witch was a student a fifth or sixth year at most and yet she could duel. A loud explosion from down the hill in Hogsmeade was enough to distract Bellatrix and Ginny got in a Bat Bogey Hex. "That is for my family and this is for Harry" she yelled and fired off another curse. Bellatrix screamed as she was thrown to the ground with the force of both curses.

Not wasting a second Ginny turned to run up the hill towards Sirius, James and Remus. "Expecto Patronum" she yelled loudly casting the charm and she was happy to see her horse Patronus appear. "Dumbledore, tell Dumbledore Hogsmeade is under attack" she yelled.

James was kneeling next to Remus, both boys were pointing their wands at the Death Eater who was at Sirius's feet. He looked like he had been hit with a body bind.

Another curse brushed past Ginny and she threw herself to the right avoiding it.

"Ginny!" all three boys yelled at her. She watched James and Remus get to their feet. "Run!" she yelled and quickly caught up with them. Sirius grabbed her roughly and pulled her forward.

"Crucio" Bellatrix rang out from behind them and without thinking, without hesitating Ginny pushed Sirius out of the way. She instantly dropped to the ground when the curse hit her and screamed in pain.

"No" Sirius roared in anger and he quickly fired off a stunning spell at his cousin. This one hit her and she gasped out in surprise. He then turned his back on his cousin and reached down to help Ginny up. She hissed in pain and Sirius cursed when he saw that she had tears on her cheeks.

"C'mon Ginny, we are almost back at Hogwarts" he told her and he picked her up into his arms and carried her as they ran up the path and into the Shrieking Shack. Sirius felt damp and looked down to see Ginny's arm bleeding.

"She's bleeding" he told James and Remus who were meters ahead of them.

"Keep coming, we need to get back to Hogwarts. We will look at it there" James said briefly looking over his shoulder at Ginny in Sirius's arms. Moments later they were coming out of the Whomping Willow and had made it back inside the castle and back up to Gryffindor without seeing a single teacher.

"Quick our door room" Remus said quietly and the three boys and Ginny hurried upstairs into the boy's dorm.

Peter was woken up by them all coming in. "What is going on?" he asked as the room lit in with light. His eyes narrowed in on the red head in Sirius's arms and took in the blood on her.

"Is that Ginny?" he stuttered his eyes wide.

"Wormtail get a bowl of warm water and a clean towel from the bathroom" Remus said quietly as Sirius laid Ginny down on his bed. The three boys crowded around her looked over her. "Ginny are you hurt anywhere else?" Remus asked as he gently lifted her bleeding arm.

Taking a deep breath she shook her head. "I'm okay" she whispered hoarsely and Sirius immediately transfigured a glass of water for her.

She took it gratefully and took a deep breath trying to steady her racing heart. Remus immediately to cleaning her wound with the towel that Peter had brought.

"What happened?" Peter asked again and James pulled him back from the group near Ginny's bed and gave him the short version of how they had snuck out to Hogsmeade and been attacked by Death Eaters.

Sirius sat next to Ginny with an arm wrapped around her waist as Remus took care of the cut on her arm. "Your good at healing charms" she muttered to Remus quietly.

"We should take you to the hospital wing Ginny. You were hit with the Crutacious curse" he said looking down at her. She could barely keep her eyes open.

"It's fine, I just need to rest. It was worse the last time I got hit with it" she said her voice quiet.

Sirius and Remus looked at each other in alarm. Last time, Remus mouthed to Sirius.

"Not now" Sirius muttered quietly to Remus before turning his attention back to Ginny. "You can sleep in here okay? I don't think you're in any state to go back to your dorm" he said looking at the blood on her clothes. He stood up and reached into his trunk beside his been pulling out a T-shirt that she could put on.

"Let's get you out of these clothes" he said to her quietly before helping her up and leading her to the bathroom.

James, Remus and Peter watched Sirius as he led Ginny into their bathroom and the door close behind them. "She saved us tonight" James said more to himself than the others but Remus nodded in response.

In the bathroom Sirius turned to face Ginny. "Are your sure your alright?" she asked softly. She didn't say anything but simply raised one hand to his face and cupped his cheek and smiled softly.

"Let's get you into this" Sirius said holding the t-shirt up, which was a Puddlemere quidditch shirt.

"I always preferred the Harpies myself" she said and Sirius chuckled.

Reaching down to lift her jumper off her Sirius looked at her silently asking permission to remove her clothes. Again she nodded at him and lifted her arms above her head. He slowly removed her jumper and the shirt underneath it, throwing the blood stained clothing to the ground. He immediately slipped the t-shirt on over her head and as he suspected the shirt was way to large on her, it came almost all the way down to her knees. She undid her jeans and slid them off adding them to the pile of dirty clothes.

Yawning she swayed on the spot and Sirius reached out to steady her. "Let's go to bed" he said softly as he led her out of the bathroom and back into the dorm room. The others, he had noticed, had already gotten changed and were in their own beds. He marched her over to his bed and pulled back the covers before laying her down in there. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow. He stood watching her for second forgetting that the others were in the room. Reaching forward he gently brushed some hair off her face.

He pulled up one of the lounge chairs in the room and placed it next to the head of the bed, grabbing a spare blanket and pillow he settled down in the chair watching Ginny until he too fell asleep.


	6. Poker Face

**Chapter Six – Poker Face**

Sirius Black groaned as he woke up, his neck was stiff from sleeping in a chair all night. He was momentarily stunned when he saw Ginny asleep in his bed. What the? he thought and suddenly the events from last night came back to him. Bellatrix, he thought angrily. She had thrown a Crutacious curse at him and Ginny had pushed him out of the way. She had taken an unforgivable curse for him.

He swallowed deeply looking at her. Her red hair played across his pillows, her face calm and relaxed, showing none of the stress that had been there last night. Her lips were parted slightly and he found himself wishing he could lean down and kiss them again. She had invaded his life, since she fell out of the sky at Potter Manor during the summer. He knew there was more to her than she was letting on. She was in his thoughts every day and that scared him because Sirius Black didn't need anyone, or so he liked to think.

"Sirius" a voice hissed from behind him and he turned around to see James and Remus sitting on James's bed with Peter nowhere to be found. Grinning he got up and made his way over to his best friends.

"Are you okay?" he asked them both.

Nodding they grinned at him. "Crazy night hey?" James said and all three of them laughed quietly. They all looked at Ginny sleeping for a moment.

"She can duel" James said quietly. "Some of those spells, you don't get taught them till your seventh year" he continued on.

"She saved out butts" Sirius said and again they all chuckled.

"You still get the feeling there is more to her than she has told us?" James asked Sirius.

"All the time" Sirius muttered.

Remus uncomfortably shifted on the spot, a move that did not go unnoticed by either Sirius or James.

"Remus? Do you know something?" James asked curiously. Sirius simply stared at him.

"She uh, she told me a few things the other day. I wanted to thank her for keeping me being a werewolf a secret" he said quietly eyeing Ginny to make sure that she was still asleep.

"Well?" Sirius said impatiently.

"She said that she was the youngest of seven. She had six older brothers and that she was the only female born into the family in seven generations. That's pretty powerful" he said thinking about the relevance of the number seven. "Her family were apparently pretty vocal about opposing he who must not be named. Her parents and older brothers were in the Order. She also said they had fought Death Eaters more than once before."

"She knew Bellatrix" Sirius said suddenly. "Last night when Bellatrix took off her mask, Ginny recognised her, she said her name. And before Bellatrix cursed her she said something about this being for her family and for Harry"

"Harry wasn't one of her brothers. One of them, Bill the eldest, had been attacked by a werewolf when he was human. But I'm pretty sure she didn't mention a Harry" Remus told them.

"Harry was my brother Ron's best friend" a soft voice said causing all three of them to freeze. Guilty looks came over their faces as they looked at her. She was sitting up in bed looking much better than last night. "Hi" she said to them softly.

"Ginny!" James said loudly as he jumped off his bed and diving onto her wrapping her up in a hug. She giggled as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You were brilliant last night. Where did you learn to duel like that?" he asked her.

"The DA" the said without thinking about it.

"The DA? What's that?" James asked confused.

"Oh it was a club we made where we could practice spells and duelling" she said not totally telling the truth.

There was a knock on the door and Professor Kingsley walked in a moment later. He took in Ginny in the bed and James sitting over here. Ginny blushed when he raised an eyebrow at them.

Pushing James out of the way, she tried to get out of the bed. "Professor it's not what it looks like!" she said as she struggled with the blankets. Moving to fast she tripped as she got out of bed and fell on her bottom.

All three Marauders burst out laughing and James stood up reaching over to offer her a hand up. "Thanks" she said blushing.

"Now I am not going to ask what you are doing in here, but I suggest that you go back to your dormitory and get changed and accompany me to the Headmasters office" he told her.

"Is this about Hogsmeade getting attacked by Death Eaters last night?" she asked curiously.

Kingsley eyed her before looking at the other three in the room. "And how do you know that Hogsmeade was attacked?" he asked coyly.

Again Ginny blushed. "Uh well, you see I kind of snuck out to Hogsmeade last night. By myself" she told him. All three boys looked at Ginny sharply.

"By yourself?" Kingsley asked not believing her.

"Absolutely" she confirmed.

"And how may I ask did you get out of the castle without setting off the wards at the front gate?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, that's easy under the Whomping Willow and through the Shrieking Shack" she told him confidently.

Ginny and Kingsley eyed each other for a moment. She was lying he knew that, but she obviously wanted to protect these boys. "And did you see the attack on Hogsmeade Miss Delacour?" he asked her curious to what had been going on.

"No I was on my way back and I saw the Death Eaters arrive. A couple of them followed me and the rest headed into Hogsmeade. I fought with two of them, managed to get one with a Reducto spell and the other I eventually got with a stunner. After that I ran" she told him.

"I see. Well this will need to be discussed with Professor Dumbledore. Come along now Miss Delacour" he told her.

"Wait!" she said running forward and grabbing his arm.

"Last night I sent a message on my Patronus to Dumbledore warning him of the attack. Did he get it?" she asked anxiously.

Glancing for a fraction at the three boys behind her Kingsley simply nodded. "Dumbledore was away from Hogwarts last night, but your Patronus was received by Professor McGonagall. Now please go get dressed."

"But Professor – " she began.

"Enough questions Miss Delacour, Professor Dumbledore is waiting for you. He has good news" Kingsley told her.

"Good news?" she repeated. Surely Dumbledore would have told her if he was going after another Horcrux.

"Two down Miss Delacour" he told her quietly before saying goodbye to them all.

She turned back to face the others. "Two down!" she called happily before running out of the room, leaving all three remaining Marauders confused.

"Two what?" Sirius shouted after her with no reply.

* * *

"Lemon drops" Ginny said the stone gargoyle gaining access to Dumbledore's office. Quickly climbing the stairs she entered his office and grinned at him when she saw him sitting at his desk.

"You got a second one!" she said happily.

"Indeed Miss Weasley." he began referring to her real surname. It warmed Ginny's heart to hear it. "Last night the Aurors and a few members of the Wizengamot conducted a raid on Malfoy Manor. They recovered several outlawed books on the Dark Arts. They also recovered this black diary" he told her pointing to a book on his desk that she had not yet seen.

She stared at the diary in horror. Memories washing over her as she remembered being trapped in the Chamber of Secrets, of Tom Riddle telling her horrible things, of Harry saving her.

"I have not yet destroyed the Horcrux my dear, I thought that you might like the opportunity" he told her softly, knowing of her history with this particular object.

Opening a drawer at his desk he pulled out a small item wrapped in fabric. Laying it on the desk in front of her, he opened to fabric and inside was a basilisk fang.

"You know what this is?" he asked her.

"Yes, Harry destroyed the diary with a basilisk fang in the chamber" she said quietly. "Where did you get this one from?"

"From the chamber. Over summer after you arrived and told me of the actual existence of the Chamber of Secrets, a few members of the Order entered the chamber and killed the basilisk."

"Really?" she asked him, hoping that it was true.

"Really" Dumbledore confirmed smiling down at her. Sliding the basilisk fang towards her he motioned towards the diary. "If you will".

Ginny picked up the fang and simply stared at the diary for a moment.

_Ginny, _she heard the voice whisper in her head. _Ginny. _That voice had haunted her dreams since she was eleven years old.

"No" she said loudly before plunging the fang through the centre of the diary. The diary shuddered on the desk, and a black liquid came oozing out of the pages.

"Well done Miss Weasley" Dumbledore told her knowing that she would get some satisfaction out doing that.

"Now" he began as he leaned back in his chair and stared at her over the top of his glasses, "Why don't you tell me about your adventures in Hogsmeade last night?".

* * *

The next couple of weeks passed rather uneventfully. Everyone had been talking about the attack on Hogsmeade of course, that was until Dumbledore had announced the New Years Eve Ball at Hogwarts. Suddenly a lot more students were staying over for Christmas. James had asked Lily to the ball and she had agreed. Ginny secretly pleased for both of them, gave Lily a right old teasing about it later on. It was still 4 weeks away but it was all that anybody in the castle was talking about. That and today's quidditch match – Gryffindor v Slytherin. Everyone knew that it would be dirty. The hatred between the two houses always spilled over onto the quidditch pitch and this game was shaping up to be no different.

A week ago Ginny has been having breakfast in the Great Hall and an owl had arrived carrying a rather large box. Setting it down on the table, the Gryffindors and a few people from other houses had crowded round to see her open it. Inside sat a brand new Cleansweep 6, the newest broom on the market and the one that Ginny had eyed in Diagon Alley with Sirius and James before she started school.

She squealed delightedly. Sure it wasn't a Firebolt, but hell they hadn't even been invented yet! It was a brand new broom and it was all hers. There was no note attached so she had no idea who had given it to her.

Glancing up she looked at James sitting next to her. "Did you do this?" she asked him excitedly. He shook his head "No, sorry Ginny" he told her, his eyes flickering to something behind her for a split second. But that was enough for her. She turned to her other side where Sirius was and simply stared at him. He stared back at her not saying a word, but he did raise an eyebrow at her and smirk. She knew then that it was him. Not saying a word she threw her arms around him, holding him tight, her heart racing. "Thank you" she had whispered into his ear.

And now today she would finally get a chance to use her new broom in a game. She had come down to the pitch early, hoping to calm her nerves a bit. "Ginny?" a male voice said from behind her and she turned to see Regulus and another member of the Slytherin team in their robes and carrying their brooms.

"You ready to get thrashed boys?" she asked them smirking.

All three of them laughed. Regulus and Ginny had formed an unusual friendship. They didn't talk a lot outside of classes but when they did it was very civilised. In potions class however there friendship seem to thrive. They both were very good at the subject and found a lot to talk about. They avoided talking about the Black family and Ginny very rarely talked about her family. But there was obviously quidditch and what they wanted to do after Hogwarts. She wanted to ask him about Voldermort of course, and if he had become a Death Eater but she obviously couldn't without making him suspicious of her. She had decided that she would become friends with Regulus, he did turn from Voldermort not long after becoming a Death Eater and he did steal a horcrux after all.

"Ginny this is Jonathan Zabini our captain and our Keeper" Regulus told her.

Jonathan Zabini smirked at her. Blaise Zabini's father, Ginny thought. He sure looked like Blaise with the dark hair and hazel eyes. "I've heard a bit about you Delacour" he told her.

"Really, was it all good? In that case it is all true" she told him smirking back.

"I heard you can fly" Jonathan said.

"Zabini, I'm going to fly circles around your team out there" she told him as she flicked her hair over her shoulder.

"Are you sure you aren't a Slytherin?" he asked her jokingly.

She was about to make a witty comeback but saw some of the Gryffindor team approach them. Gideon and Fabian were nearing them with Sirius and James not to far behind them.

"Gin Gin!" the twins cried in unison rushing up to hug her. "Are you ready to kick some Slytherin butt?" they asked her glaring over her head at Regulus and Jonathan.

"Oh please" Jonathan said rolling his eyes at him.

Ginny giggled at the twin's behaviour. She loved being around them, it really was like having Fred and George back again. Out of the corner of her eye her saw Sirius and James approach. Now was a good time to say goodbye, she thought. She gently nudged the twins towards Sirius and James wanting to have the two Black brothers separated.

"Don't be to upset with me when I start shooting all my goals past you will you Zabini?" she asked cheekily battering her eyelids at him.

Gideon and Fabian started laughing and even Regulus managed to crack a smile.

"Bring it on Delacour" was all he said in response before the two groups separated.

Linking her arms though the twins she started to walk away. "Your odd you know that?" Fabian told her.

"And why is that?" she asked laughing.

"You actually like Slytherins!" Gideon responded and shook his head in disbelief.

Two hours later it was all over. It had been a rough game like everyone knew it was going to be. The Slytherin beaters had taken out one of Gryffindors chasers and Ginny had been hit by a bludger once. Gideon and Fabian had responded in kind and eventually Gryffindor caught the snitch ending the game. "We won!" Sirius yelled as the team flew to the ground and James and Sirius pulled Ginny into a three way hug.

"Party in the common room!" somebody had yelled and within 30 minutes every Gryffindor and a couple of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had gathered in the common room, music was blaring and everyone was having a lot of fun. Ginny had spent most of the night with the twins. She relished every moment with them. Around 10pm Lily Evans, ever the responsible head girl, sent all fourth years and below up to their dorms. She then cast a silencing charm so that anybody above the common room could not hear the noise coming from below.

Rebecca and Marlene came running up to Ginny and the twins excitedly. "Fancy a drink?" Rebecca had asked them pulling a bottle of vodka out of her robes.

"Becca. I think I may be in love with you" Gideon said loudly, causing everyone in the group to laugh.

Over the next hour they five of them managed to drink the entire bottle. Ginny looked around and noticed Sirius, Remus, James and Lily in a corner chatting. Excusing herself from her friends she made her way over to the others.

"Hi!" she said loudly, not realising how loud she actually was.

"You played really well today Ginny" Lily said kindly.

"Thanks" Ginny said as she stumbled a little trying to make her way to the empty space next to Remus.

Remus eyed her curiously as she sat down next to him. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks were red. He blinked when he noticed her leaning into him, studying him. Remus quickly looked at James and Sirius, who were watching Ginny curiously. "Do you know that you have really nice eyes?" she asked him.

The group were silent for moment. "Are you drunk?" Remus suddenly asked her amused.

"Nope" she said popping the p, and both Sirius and James snorted. It was blatantly obvious that she was.

"Ginny!" Lily said shocked. "Where did you get alcohol from?"

"Nobody" said Ginny, hoping she could keep a straight face.

"Ginny" Lily began to say until James cut her off. "Oh relax Lily, she isn't hurting anyone" he said sticking up for Ginny.

Ginny nodded in agreement, "Thanks James" she said cheerfully. Again Sirius and James snorted trying to hide their laughter. Remus grinned at her and even Lily cracked a smile.

"Ginny!" a voice said interrupting them. Looking up she saw the twins standing there, slurring their words slightly.

"Potter, Black, Lupin, Lily" Gideon said smiling at them all.

"Well at least now we know where the alcohol came from" Lily said quietly to James, taking in the state of the Prewitt twins.

"Hey!" Fabian said. "We would never get Ginny drunk. well we would but it wasn't us. It was all Rebecca's fault" he said pointing at Rebecca and Marlene who were passed out asleep leaning on each on the couch.

"Never mind that though. Ginny we have the most awesome new name for you" Fabian said excitedly and Gideon nodded next to her. "Mini Molly!" he said loudly.

Ginny froze on the couch. She could feel everyone looking at her but she couldn't take her eyes of the twins. Tears welled in her eyes and she hurriedly blinked trying to stop them from falling. A sob escaped her and she quickly covered her hand over her mouth.

"Ginny?" Remus said from beside her, he could clearly see the tears in her eyes and he knew that Sirius, James and Lily could to. What was going on? he thought. Before he knew what was happening though, Ginny dove off the couch and threw herself into Fabians arms.

He stumbled backwards a step and caught himself, wrapping his arms around her extremely pleased by her reaction. "You are the best Fabian Prewitt" she said happily.

"Hey!" Gideon said from beside her, "I was the one who thought of the name" he continued. Ginny stepped out of Fabians hug and reached up and kissed Gideon on the cheek. "You are the best too Gideon Prewitt".

"You look so much like her. Maybe there is a Prewitt in the Delacour family" Fabian mused.

"Maybe, or maybe I'm just lucky enough to look like I belong in the Prewitt family" she said quietly to them.

"You are as sweet as pie Mini Molly" Fabian said ruffling Ginny's hair. He suddenly turned to Gideon a large grin on his face, Fabian instantly reflecting the same grin. "Apple pie!" they chorused.

"Gin you have to have some Hogwarts apple pie, it's the best" Fabian told her.

Pulling back from the twins, Ginny swayed on her feet a bit. "Let's go to the kitchens" she told them, reaching forward to grab their hands and pulling them towards the portrait hole. She didn't want to leave their presence yet.

"And just how do you knw where the kitchens are?" Sirius asked her. He was pretty sure none of the Marauders had taken her there yet.

"Oh Sirius, just tickle the pear" she said over her shoulder before she collapsed into giggles. Gideon and Fabian laughing next to her.

"Oh no you don't!" Lily said standing up. "It's after curfew" she said pointing at the watch on her hand.

Ginny and the twins groaned. "Come on Lily. Its apple pie" Ginny pleaded.

"I'm sorry Ginny but no" Lily said. She turned to James and hissed at him "Back me up here".

James ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Lily is right. You three are bound to get caught the state you are in" he said honestly.

Ginny's eyes lit up. "Oh please like I would get caught by Filch" she said arrogantly.

"Yeah especially when you have that m-" Fabian piped up but Ginny quickly cut him off by slapping her hand over his face. She knew she was drunk, but not enough to let Fabian yell about the Marauders Map. she had used the copy that Harry had given her a week ago and the twins had caught her. Obviously they knew the Marauders so she could not tell them that the map was hers. Instead she lied and told them she had borrowed it from James, without permission of course.

Ginny glared at James and crossed her arms over her chest. "You are supposed to be a Marauder Prongs" she said sulkily.

Sirius openly laughed this time. "She's got you there Prongs".

"Spoilsport" Ginny huffed as she sat back down next to Remus after the twins had said goodnight to everyone. James, Sirius, Remus and Lily watched her in amusement. "Who is Molly?" Lily asked suddenly.

"My mother" she said without thinking. A yawn quickly escaped her mouth and she snuggled further into the couch, using Remus's shoulder to lean on.

"Oh" Lily said confused. Wasn't Ginny's mother dead? "Did Gideon and Fabian know your mother?" she asked curious.

Ginny shook her head wanting Lily to change the subject. "No their sister is called Molly and I look like her" she said as if that explained everything.

Confused still Lily turned to James and raised an eyebrow at him in question. He simply shrugged his shoulders. "Come with me to Hogsmeade next weekend" he asked her suddenly. Lily blushed knowing that he had asked her in front of the others. "Okay" she said softly before getting up ready to head up to bed.

"Ginny?" she asked turning back to the younger girl about to ask her if she was coming up.

But Ginny was sound asleep. She had curled her legs up onto the couch and was resting her head on Remus's arm.

"Let her sleep" Sirius said pipping up before Lily could wake her up.

Fifteen minutes later the boys got up ready to head up to bed. "I'll take her up to bed" Sirius said reaching down to lift Ginny off the couch. James charmed the stairs so that they would allow Sirius to go up them. Remus and James watched him as he went. Both exchanged a knowing look before they too headed off to bed.

Sirius pushed open the door to Ginny's dorm and could see the other girls asleep. Walking over to her bed he pulled back the blankets before placing her gently down. He knocked her dresser next to her bed with his leg and he could hear a coin fall to the ground. He pulled the covers back over her and looked down at his feet, a gold coin resting on the ground. A galleon, he though as he reached over to pick it up. Eyeing it though he realised that it wasn't like any galleon he had seen before. There was writing on it, yet he couldn't make it out in the light. Muttering a lumos with his wand his eyes widened as he read the inscription – _Hogwarts Final Battle._

What was that supposed to mean he thought. Quickly glancing around to make sure the other girls were asleep he reached over to open the top drawer of her dresser. Inside he found a hairbrush, a novel, a folded up piece of parchment and some more galleons. Picking up the galleons he closely examined them. They also had the same inscription – _Hogwarts Final Battle. _Frustrated he put all the coins but one back in the drawer. He looked at the Ginny lying there asleep and frowned. "Who are you Ginny Delacour?" he asked nobody before pocketing the coin and leaving her to sleep.

**

* * *

**

James looked at the coin in his hand the Sirius had given him. "It's just a galleon Padfoot" he told him wondering what the big deal was.

"Look at the inscription Padfoot, when was the last time you saw that written on a galleon?" he said pointing to the coin.

Frowning James looked at the coin closely and his eyed widened when he saw that Sirius was right. _Hogwarts Final Battle._ "Hogwarts Final Battle? I don't get it" he said confused.

"Neither do I. I don't get any of this" Sirius said frustrated. He ran a hand through his curly hair and started pacing back and forth across the empty hallway they were standing in. "I don't get her. There are to many things that don't add up. This coin, the attack on her family. That thing with the twins calling her Molly. And Remus swears he thinks she already knew about him being a werewolf. None of this makes sense" he said angrily.

"Padfoot" James said quietly. "Do you think she is involved in something?" he asked uncertainly.

Sirius stopped pacing and looked and James. "What do you mean?" he asked warily.

"I don't know, it's all just weird right?" James said.

"I'm going to ask her" Sirius said suddenly whirling around and heading back towards the common room.

"Wait!" James said loudly, hurrying to catch up with him.

"Sirius, we have no proof, we don't even know what is going on here" he said trying to talk some sense into Sirius.

"It doesn't matter James, it's about time we found out just exactly what Ginny is hiding" he said.

James shook his head and silently followed his friend. Once Sirius got an idea into his head there was little chance of him changing his mind. Somehow this wasn't going to end well, James thought.

* * *

Regulus Black nervously made his way through the dungeons and halls of Hogwarts until he was outside on the grounds. Making his way towards the Forbidden Forest he thought about what he was about to do. Become a Death Eater. Even just thinking about it gave him a thrill of pleasure. Power, he thought. He would be one of them, one who believe in the power of pure bloods. He stood just inside the tree line of the forest and pulled out the piece of parchment, which was a portkey. It was due to activate in 2 minutes. He glanced back at the castle and his eyes were drawn to one of the spiers. Gryffindor Tower, he thought.

He immediately thought of Ginny. There was something different about her. She was highly perceptive he had noticed. Though she was only new she knew her way around Hogwarts like the back of her hand, she was very smart and she excelled at charms and potions. She was witty and cheeky and he knew she would of made a great Slytherin.

She had pulled him aside after potions the other day. "Can we talk?" she had asked him softly after most of the class had cleared out. Curious he had nodded and followed her. She led them to one of the courtyards on the second floor. It gave them a clear view of the ground. She had looked around to make sure that there was nobody in hearing distance.

"Regulus" she had said imploringly. "You need to listen to me. I know what your about to do" she said softly, her eyes never leaving his face.

"Do what?" he asked her uncomfortably. She couldn't possibly know that he was going to become a Death Eater, he thought wildely.

"Don't do it" she said grabbing both his hands. "You'll regret it, almost straight away."

She knows, he thought worriedly. "What are you talking about Ginny?" he said shrugging her hands off him and taking a step backwards.

"Please trust me. In know what you have to do at an initiation ceremony" she said almost whispering.

Hissing loudly he glared at her. "How the hell do you know?" he asked her both angry and shocked.

"Regulus please" she begged.

"No!" he said loudly cutting her off. "I've known you what five minutes and you think that you can just waltz into my life and tell me things like that. Your just a stupid, mud blood loving orphaned Gryffindor" he spat at her.

Refusing to back down she took a step towards him and froze when he took out his wand.

"You don't know what the hell your talking about Ginny" he sneered at her. "You better keep your little ideas to yourself" he threatened as he stepped forward pointing his wand at her heart.

He watched her as she accepted what he said. She raised her hands in defeat and took a step back. "Please" she said softly one last time. "There is always a choice".

Regulus fired a stunner at her deliberately aiming at the ground next to her feet. "Next time I won't miss. Now get away from me, scurry back to your precious Sirius" he spat at her before turning his back to her and walking away.

Shaking his head, Regulus cleared his mind a second before the parchment in his hand glowed. Immediately he felt the tell tale pull of a portkey and he was taken off Hogwarts grounds. Moments later he landed with a thud. Picking himself up off the ground he was a ground of approximately four people in front of him. They were dressed in identical black robes and wore white masks. One of the individuals stood slightly in front of the others.

"Regulus Black" the figure said coldly and Regulus forced himself not to freeze, it would do no good to show fear.

"My lord" Regulus said bowing, showing the proper amount of respect to the Dark Lord.

Voldermort turned to his left and called out softly. "Bring her out".

Immediately two more Death Eaters appeared from behind a house. They were dragging a woman whose arms and legs were tied together. She struggled with her captors but was not making a sound. A silencing charm, Regulus thought.

"She's only a muggle. Kill her then swear your allegiance" Voldermort said to Regulus as the woman was unceremoniously dumped in front of him. He immediately pulled his wand out and took a step towards the woman. You can do this, you want this, he told himself.

The woman in question looked up. Her eyes focussing on Regulus. Warm brown eyes watched him, pleaded with him. You'll regret it, Ginny had told him. And for a second he flashed back to that moment in the courtyard with Ginny. Growling to himself he shook his head, raised his wand and yelled "Avada Kedavra", instantly killing the woman in front of him.


	7. Flightless Bird

**Chapter Seven – Flightless Bird**

Sirius Black marched into the Great Hall ignoring James who was beside him. "This is not a good idea Padfoot" James said again.

Sirius of course ignored him. He saw Ginny sitting at the table with Marlene, Rebecca and Alice. Ginny's face lit up when she saw him "Hey" she said happily sliding down the table to make some room for him to sit down. Ignoring the other three he said to her "We need to talk".

"Can't it wait till after dinner?" she asked pointing to the food in front of her. "Now Ginny" Sirius snapped.

All four girls looked at him in surprise. Sirius Black was a ladies man, he joked, he flirted, he seduced. Not one of them had ever heard him speak in anger at a woman. Confused Ginny looked at him trying to figure out what was wrong. She looked passed him to see James standing near the entrance hall. "Okay" she muttered quietly getting up. "I'll see you later" she said to the girls.

Sirius spun on his heel and walked back towards James knowing that Ginny would follow him. At some point in time Remus had joined James and together the group left the Great Hall. "What is going on?" Ginny asked them curiously. Remus looked at her and shrugged his head; he was as clueless as she was. Sirius continued to ignore them, yet they still followed him. Suddenly stopping he opened a door and looked in, satisfied he turned to the others and motioned them in. He muttered a silence spell and closed the door, making sure that nobody could hear them.

Feeling slightly nervous Ginny looked towards James and Remus. They had taken each taken a seat at one of the desk and were eyeing Sirius. "Sirius, what is going on?" she asked him cautiously.

He looked at her without saying anything for a moment. "Who are you?" he asked her suddenly taking a step towards her.

"What" she breathed.

"You heard me. Who are you Ginny?" he said softly looking at her.

"What do you mean?" she asked carefully. Careful Ginny, she told herself.

Sirius reached into his pocket and Ginny reacted quickly pulling her wand out and holding it in front of her.

"Hey! Let's calm down now" Remus said stepping forward to place himself in the middle of the two of them.

Ignoring him Sirius pulled a gold coin out of his pocket and held it up so Ginny could see. "What is this?" he asked her, carefully watching her for a reaction.

Her eyes widened as she recognised one of her DA coins. "Where did you get that?" she asked him quietly.

"Your drawer in your dorm" he told her honestly.

Remus stepped forward and took a closer look at the coin. Confused he looked at Ginny. "Hogwarts Final Battle?" he asked her. "What does that mean?" Ginny ignored him and glared at Sirius. "What gives you the right to go through my things?" she asked him angrily.

"Answer the question Ginny. What does Hogwarts Final Battle mean?" Sirius said.

She looked at Remus helplessly. He was going to be no help, he had questions to she thought.

"Ginny. Things don't add up with you. This coin, that so called attack on your family, the way you react to the Prewitt twins, it's like you know them. My cousin Bellatrix you know her, I heard you that night. The private lessons you have with Kingsley, the meetings with Dumbledore…" he trailed off.

Ginny stared at him in horror. No! she thought. "Please don't do this" she said quietly taking a step back from Sirius.

"And your fascination with the Slytherins. It's not right, you're a Gryffindor, you should hate them" Sirius continued.

"Hate them?" Ginny said clinging onto that. "Why should I hate them just because the sorting hat put them into Slytherin?" she said.

"They are all evil Ginny" James said pipping up for the first time since entering the room.

"No they're not. Don't you get it? This hatred between Gryffindor and Slytherin is how it all starts" she cried.

"They're all Death Eaters in training" Sirius said coldly.

"No they are not" she cried rushing forward and grabbing Sirius by the elbow. "Voldermort is a Slytherin, I get that. But evil comes from other houses too. Even from Gryffindor" she said coldly thinking of Peter Pettigrew.

"The truth Ginny" Sirius said shrugging her arm off him.

She looked to be Remus and James for help but they simply stared at her. "Please don't do this" she whispered softly looking down at her hands. How do you tell somebody they have a terrible future, that they die in five years time, that they spend twelve years in Azkaban for a crime they did not commit, that they die in the Final Battle at Hogwarts. Easy, you don't.

She raised her head and looked at Sirius, tears filling her eyes.

"You want the truth Sirius? The truth is my heart is breaking every single day from that, what did you call it? That so called attack on my family. At night I have horrible nightmares. I hear their screams. I watch as they come for us and they slaughter us. I watched every single person I have ever cared about die in that battle. I see the lifeless faces of my parents and my brothers. And Harry. I see Harry's body and that feeling of utter hopelessness" she told them tears streaming down her face.

"Gideon and Fabian remind me of my twin brothers. Right down to the red hair and freckles. Bellatrix was there when they all died. She killed my Mum and one of my brothers. That's how I know her. Those lessons with Kingsley are defensive lessons. I need to learn more to kill them" she said coldly wiping away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.

She stepped forward and snatched the coin out of Sirius's hand. "This is none of your business" she told him. She turned her back to him and waved her wand at the door, it flew open instantly.

"Ginny" James said hesitantly.

"No" she said shaking her head and turning back to face them. "Leave me alone" she said coldly before leaving the room.

Ginny ran. She didn't want any of them coming after her. She ignored the curious stares that she got from the students. She stopped at the top of a staircase going any further would mean heading back to the Gryffindor tower, and she wanted to avoid people. She turned left and walked quickly down a secluded hallway. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going and soon found herself in a part of the castle she was not familiar with. Opening a door she entered an empty room that had nothing in it but a large mirror covered in dust. Curious she approached the mirror and was stunned when instead of seeing the reflection of the room, she saw the Burrow. Her heart gave a leap of job when her family, Harry and Hermonie materialised right in front of her eyes.

"Mum?" she said in disbelief. And Molly Weasley smiled in return holding a hand over her heart.

A violent sob escaped from Ginny's body and she burst into tears. Sliding down to the floor she could not take her eyes off the people in the mirror. She reached up touch the glass, hoping against hope that her fingers would pass through and she would be able to touch her family. They only touched the cold glass. She watched in morbid fascination as her family cheerfully smiled and waved at her. Frozen, she could do nothing but sit there and watch them whilst silent tears streamed down her face. She didn't know how long she sat there; it could have been minutes or hours. She never wanted to leave here. Here in this room, she could again be close to her family. Here in this room she was not alone. Footsteps drew her attention away from the mirror and she turned to see Lily Evans in the doorway.

"Ginny?" Lily said incredulously as she took in the state of the younger girl. She had obviously been crying, her eyes were red and puffy and there were tear tracks all over her cheeks. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly walking softly to Ginny and kneeling down in front of her.

Looking up Ginny looked into those oh so familiar green eyes and whispered to Lily, "I want to go home" before silent tears made their way down her cheeks. "It's not fair" she sobbed.

Correctly assuming that she was upset about her family, Lily leaned over and gave her a hug. The two girls stayed like that for a moment until Ginny pulled back from Lily. Getting up Ginny took one long look in the mirror. Lily looked over her at the mirror and her eyes widened. "Do you know what this is?" Lily asked her.

Ginny simply shook her head.

"It's the Mirror of Erised. It shows you your hearts deepest desires" Lily murmured as she took a moment to look at the mirror. Blushing she turned to Ginny. "Shall we go back to the common room?"

"Well well well what do we have here?" a cold voice said interrupting them. The two girls spun round to see Severus Snape standing in the doorway.

"Severus! You scared me" Lily said chuckling quietly.

"Evans" he said nodding at her before eyeing Ginny. "You keep showing up everywhere don't you" he said sneering at Ginny and taking a step towards her. "Typical Gryffindor keeping the wolfs secret" he said coldly to her.

"Have you two met?" Lily asked curiously but Ginny ignored her. "Do you know what this mirror shows you Snivellius?" she hissed at him pointing to the mirror behind her. "Your deepest desires. Go on, take a look. I bet you'll see yourself standing right next to the your Dark Lord"

"Ginny!" Lily said horrified whilst Snape marched forward until he was standing close to the girls.

"Watch your mouth Delacour. Your just like those Marauders" he spat at her.

And suddenly she saw red. Here in front of her was somebody she could blame, somebody who had betrayed her family and friends, and somebody who had murdered innocent people. "I know what you are Severus Snape. You're a bitter, twisted man. And I know what you are going to become. An evil traitor!" she said glaring at him.

"Enough Ginny!" Lily said loudly but she was ignored.

"We trusted you. Dumbledore trusted you and you stood by and helped as they slaughtered us" Ginny yelled angrily.

Snape narrowed his eyes at Ginny in anger. He itched to grab his wand and curse the girl.

"You're a murderer" Ginny spat at him.

For an instant Snape eyed her curiously. It was crazy talk right? She couldn't possible know that he was a Death Eater and had killed people. Not possible he thought and before he could think about what he was doing, before Ginny or Lily could comprehend it, he raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face. Her head snapped to the side with the force of his hand and she hissed in pain as she could instantly taste blood in her mouth.

"Severus! How could you?" Lily said shocked. For a moment she stood there alternating at looking between Ginny who already had a large handprint across her face and a split and bruised lip from the ring on Snape's finger and Snape who was frozen on the spot. He immediately jumped into action and darted from the room leaving the two girls alone.

"Ginny, I – " Lily said struggling to get the words out.

Ginny closed her eyes for a moment trying to calm her emotions, it had been too much for one night. "Let's go back to the common room" she said to Lily and the two girls walked in silence.

Just as they reached the portrait hole Lily stopped Ginny. "I know its wrong of me to ask you this but please, please don't tell anybody it was Severus. It's already hard enough for him here, if James and Sirius knew they would make his life hell" she begged.

Sighing deeply Ginny attempted to smile. "He's a friend of yours right?". Harry had told her once that Lily and Snape had been friends back at Hogwarts.

Lily simply nodded, feeling to guilty to saw anything.

"Lily it's okay. I mouthed off to him, I shouldn't have done that" Ginny said as they entered the portrait hole. Luckily the common room was empty. Lily led Ginny to one of the couches and sat her down. "I'll be right back. Let me get my mediwitch handbook. It will have a spell in it to heal your face" she said and ran up the stairs.

Ginny curled up on the couch and leaned back watching the flames of the fire. She closed her eyes and listened to the crackling of the wood burning. Moments later she could feel somebody watching her and without opening her eyes she murmured "It's okay Lily, I'm sure it looks worse than it feels". Lily did not respond. A deep cough interrupted the silence and Ginny opened one eye and looked in front of her. Not Lily, she thought as she took in Sirius, Remus and James. "I don't want to talk to any of you" she muttered, still on the couch facing the fire.

"Ginny, please" Remus said softly taking a step towards her.

"Go away" she said as she faced them forgetting about her face.

The three boys let out a horrified gasp as they took in her face. Sirius was by her side in an instant gently grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him. She was drawn in by the concern in his eyes. "Who did this to you?" he asked hoarsely.

She pulled back from him and tried to move further away from him on the couch, but he wouldn't let her go.

"Ginny" James said sternly from behind her. "Did somebody hit you?" he asked his fists clenched in anger.

"It was me" Lily said from behind them. All four of them turned to look at Lily as she pushed her way in to sit on Ginny's other side of the couch with a book in her hand.

"Lily?" James asked confused.

"It was all my fault, I was late for my patrol and I was running down the staircase, I tripped and reached out for something to hold onto and accidentally hit Ginny in the face." Lily explained as she looked down at her book trying to find the right spell.

Ginny felt Sirius next to her tug gently on her face and she again was forced to face him. "What really happened?" he asked her quietly.

"Lily just told you" she muttered as she swatted his hand away. She was still upset from earlier, at all three of them.

"Got it!" Lily said as she waved her wand at Ginny's face and said the incantation. Instantly Ginny felt her face tingle. "Pretty as a picture" Lily said closing the book and glancing nervously at James. She knew they did not believe her story.

Ginny pushed herself up off the couch and squeezed Lily's hand. "I'm going to bed" she told her ignoring the three boys standing there.

Sirius immediately followed her. "Ginny" he said quietly, almost begging. She sighed deeply and turned to face him, an unhappy look on her face.

"What Sirius? I think you said all you needed to say earlier on, don't you? I don't want to talk to you, to any of you" she said pointedly glancing at Remus and James.

"Stop it" he told her suddenly. "Don't shut me out" he said almost whispering.

Her heart broke when she saw the look on her face and she had a sudden urge to reach forward and wrap her arms around him. "You push to hard Sirius. Did you ever think that there are some things that I just don't want to talk about" she told him seriously.

"I'll be here waiting whenever you are ready to talk" he said looking deeply into her eyes. Nodding she turned around and walked upstairs not looking back.

* * *

Remus Lupin knocked on the door to the girl's dormitory. The door opened and he found himself looking into the eyes of Rebecca. Becca, he told himself. "Hi Becca" he said looking down into her warm brown eyes. He found himself thinking how pretty she looked that morning, a thought he had had many times before. He briefly looking past her into the dorm. Ginny was sitting at her desk writing on parchment.

"Can I talk to Ginny alone?" he asked her and he could of sworn that her face dropped for a moment. "Sure" she said quietly as she turned back to Ginny and waved goodbye.

"Becca wait!" Remus called suddenly causing the girl to stop and turn around in the hallway.

She raised an eyebrow at him in question and Remus awkwardly shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Should I he thought to himself. Remus Lupin often found him doubting himself because of his werewolf condition. The monster within, he referred to it as. How could he possible get close to anyone, to a female, when he couldn't even trust himself.

Sighing deeply, he found himself briefly looking past Becca to Ginny. She was eyeing him curiously with an encouraging smile on her face. Almost as if she knew what he was thinking. "Do you have a date to the ball?" he asked to Becca, his cheeks turning red.

"Why Remus Lupin are you asking me to the dance?" she asked him taking a step towards him smiling.

Taking that smile as a good sign he nodded at her. "Yes. Yes I am"

"I'd love to" she replied happily before turning around and continuing down the hallway giving him and Ginny a chance to talk.

Ginny hid her smile as she saw the look on Remus's face when Becca. As he entered the room and closed the door, she quickly looked down at her desk, refusing to meet his concerned gaze. She had not had a good night. After the confrontation with Sirius, seeing her family in the Mirror of Erised and Snape slapping her she had many thoughts that had weighed on her mind. Mostly she was feeling sorry for herself. She was missing her family, her close friends, Harry. Ginny was also feeling guilty. Last night she had admitted to herself that she had feelings for Sirius Black. She felt guilty she was moving on from Harry so soon, even though they hadn't actually been dating in almost a year.

"How are you?" Remus asked gently as he grabbed a chair from the desk next to Ginny, turned it around and sat down facing her.

"Lonely" she said surprising both of them with her honesty.

Remus raised an eyebrow at her. "You missing your family?" he asked her.

"Every day".

"You know I have been told that I am a pretty good listener" he told her.

Ginny focussed all her attention on him. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she studied him. He didn't have the tired, worn look from the future. His hair hadn't gone grey and he wasn't constantly looking over at his shoulder at people. It was his eyes that Ginny had always loved. That year that he had been her Professor, he had helped her more than anyone knew. It was her two weekly meetings that she had with him discussing being possessed by Voldermort that had helped her overcome to horror of her first room.

"Can I trust you Remus Lupin?" she asked him pulling herself out of her memories. "Really trust you" she continued.

Remus nodded knowing that whatever secrets Ginny had to tell she was holding close to her heart.

"What I am about to tell you, you can't tell anyone" she told her sternly. "You need to promise me Remus. Not to Sirius and James and especially not to Peter".

He took in the sharp look in her eye and swallowed suddenly nervous. "I promise" he told her.

"Where do I begin?" she muttered to herself.

"At the beginning" he said smiling encouragingly at her.

And suddenly Ginny couldn't keep her mouth shut. She told him about coming from the future, the Final Battle at Hogwarts, the rise of Voldermort in the second war, the betrayal of Peter, Sirius being in Azkaban and James and Lily dying, the prophecy, the Horcruxes and Harry. She told him what she knew about the first war, about Gideon and Fabian.

Remus listened without saying a word. His mind trying to comprehend all she was telling him. "What happens to me?" he asked not sure he wanted to know the answer.

Ginny reached out a hand and gently squeezed his hand. "You were the remaining Marauder. You came to teach at Hogwarts, you taught Defence against the Dark Arts. You married a wonderful woman. She was an Auror. You both died in the Final Battle"

She did not mention Teddy.

"Wow that explains how you knew about me being a werewolf. I had a feeling that somehow you already knew"

She continued her story telling Remus about the time turner and coming back to the past. The fact that Dumbledore knew everything.

"So these things, these Horcruxes, that Vol-Voldermort has created. You have to destroy these before you can kill him?" he asked slightly confused.

Ginny nodded, eyeing him, taking in his reaction.

"Wow" he said quietly taking it all in.

Ginny reached behind her into her trunk and pulled out her beloved photo album. Silently she gave it to Remus. He opened it and flicked through the photos with interest. He paused on the first photo of Ginny and Harry and gasped. "He does look like James" he commented. "Did you love him?" Remus asked her curiously.

Ginny smiled softly as she looked at the picture. "He was my first love" she admitted.

Remus ran a hand through his hair suddenly feeling conflicted. Ginny took one look at him and knew he was thinking about keeping all of this from James and Sirius, how he was going to pretend around Peter.

"I wanted to kill Peter the first time I saw him you know" she admitted to him. "I saw him that day on the Hogwarts Express and I was so close to pulling my wand out and hexing him. It was nothing compared to seeing Snape though. I went a bit crazy at him last night. I just looked at him and all I could see was my family and he was there to blame" Ginny said.

A look of realisation came over his face. "Snape hit you?" he asked already knowing the answer. She didn't answer, she really didn't need to as Remus suddenly just knew.

"Remus listen to me. I made a promise to Charlie and to myself. I'm going to do everything I can to help destroy those horcruxes, to kill Voldermort, to ensure that my family, and Harry and my friends have a chance to live. That this times versions of them gets to live the life they deserve. I'm also doing this so you, Sirius, James and Lily have a better future. And if that means befriending Slytherins and getting hurt occasionally then I'll do it. Can you understand that?"

"I get it Ginny, I really do. I think you should tell Sirius and James though" he told her trying to persuade her.

"No!" she said scrambling to her feet. She kneeled down in front of him and grabbed both of his hands with her own. "They would not understand. How could I possible tell them of their futures? They would go off and get themselves killed trying to get to Voldermort"

"You'll have to tell them one day Ginny. Sirius, he would want to know" Remus told her. He knew there was something between Ginny and Sirius, something was brewing and he knew if they let it, it would change both their lives. They really did need each other, but at this stage he feared Sirius would be to arrogant to admit it and Ginny was not ready to let anyone in that close yet.

"One day" she agreed, hoping that day was after Voldermort had been destroyed.

"So when do we get the next Horcrux?" he asked Ginny as he stood up.

Shocked she looked up at him. "What do you mean we?" she asked cautiously.

Remus laughed at her and pulled her into a hug. "Like I'm going to let you do this by yourself" he said as he playfully ruffled her hair.

"I'm glad you asked Becca to the dance, I like her" Ginny mumbled into his chest, not wanting to pull away from his hug.

"So do I" Remus replied.

And that began the great friendship between Ginny and Remus.

* * *

Severus Snape paced back and forth in the empty Slytherin common room. Furious at himself for losing control yesterday in front of Lily and that Delacour girl. His eyes narrowed in thought when he thought of Ginny Delacour. There was something odd about her. The way she had spoken to him last night, he felt that she knew too much about him. Things he feared that he did not yet know himself. She had probably gone running back to Black and Potter, he thought. The look on Lily's face had stayed with him last night. The look of horror and disappointment on her face had shocked him to the core. You need to harden up Severus, he thought. There was no way the Dark Lord would take to kindly to know one of his Death Eaters had feelings for a Mudblood.

A tingle on his left arm alerted him to the fact that he was being contacted. He put a hand over his upper arm and quickly turned when he heard footsteps behind him. Regulus Black was hurrying down the stairs, his eyes wide and uncertain. This would be his first meeting as a Death Eater, Severus correctly assumed. The two did not say a word but simply nodded at each other and left the Slytherin common room. They were being called by their Dark Lord, and neither one wanted to be late.

* * *

**** Hi all - hope you like this chapter. Please review, I love the feedback that I have been getting. If I get enough reviews I may get a another chapter out this weekend****


	8. Once Upon a December

**Chapter Eight – Once Upon a December**

****As promised a second chapter for this weekend. Thanks everyone for your wonderful reviews. Keep them coming!****

Though Christmas was fast approaching and the New Years Ball was only a week away, a sombre mood had taken over the castle. A Ravenclaw student and her family had gone missing. She had gone home for Christmas break only three days ago and this morning the Daily Prophet had announced that the family had gone missing. Two other wizarding families had been found dead in their homes and suddenly it was all anybody was talking about. _He who must not be named making a move_ the paper had said. Ginny narrowed her eyes as she read the paper. "Bloody Tom Riddle" she muttered to herself.

"Ginny?" a voice said interrupting her thoughts. She turned to the sound of the voice in surprise, there had been nobody sitting next to her a few minutes ago. Her heart warmed when she saw Bill standing next to her.

"Hi" she said happily motioning for him to sit down. "When are you heading home?"

"Pretty soon. Professor McGonagall is letting me use the floo in her office" he told her.

"Gideon and Fabian are going with you right?" she asked him already knowing the answer. She also knew the twins would be coming back in time for the New Years Ball. She kept tabs on Bill, Gideon and Fabian. And she took any opportunity that arose to talk to Bill. Usually they talked about quidditch or Ginny would help him with his homework or teach him some basic charms. And sometimes she just let him sit there and talk about the Burrow and his family

Bill nodded and smiled at her. "I just wanted to say Merry Christmas" he said quietly looking down at his feet.

Ginny grinned and reached forward to pull the younger boy into a hug. She took a deep breath whilst she was hugging him to keep her emotions in check. She placed a brief kiss on his cheek as she pulled back. "On Christmas Day you'll get an owl from me with a small present. Keep your eye out for it okay?".

Bill simply grinned at her.

"Merry Christmas Bill" she said quietly and grinned as he blushed. Bill quickly turned and ran from the Great Hall, turning back to wave at Ginny as he left the room. She took in a shaky breath and willed herself not to cry. The Burrow at Christmas she thought with longing.

Ginny left the Great Hall not to long after, knowing she had to meet Lily so they could go to Hogsmeade to finish their Christmas shopping and get some robes for the ball. Ginny did not have a proper date to the dance yet. She had correctly assumed that her association with the Marauders had kept the male population cautious around her. At this point she was planning on going with Gideon and Fabian and was really looking forward to a night with them. Turning the corner to make her way up the staircase to the common room Ginny found herself face to face with Sirius, Remus and James. Things had been a bit tense between Sirius, James and Ginny since Sirius's confrontation last week. They had yet to talk about that night and nobody seemed ready to bring it up in conversation until now.

"There you are" Remus said happily approaching her.

Ginny grinned at him. It had been such a blessing having Remus around. She felt so comfortable in his presence knowing that he knew her story. "I was looking for you earlier, where were you?" he asked curiously.

Ginny chanced a look at Sirius and James. They were both standing behind Remus eyeing her carefully. "I was in the Great Hall saying goodbye to Bill and reading the Prophet" she told him.

"I take it Bill is going home for Christmas?" Remus asked her gently knowing that she probably wished she could be going with him. Ginny nodded at him her eyes saying what she couldn't in front of Sirius and James.

"Ginny?" James said cautiously from behind Remus.

She looked at James and Sirius standing side by side. Brothers in every which way except blood, she thought. Remus nudged her encouragingly. "James" she said offering him a soft smile.

"Can I have a quick word?" he asked as he stepped towards her and gently led her away from Sirius and Remus without waiting for her reply. They stopped a couple of meters down the hall. James stopped and leaned against the stonewall. "I'm sorry" he began. "You obviously have your secrets and I know you've been through some bad stuff. Sirius and I we just like to know everything that is going on" he explained to her.

"James I – " she began.

"No let me finish. You mean a lot to us Ginny. Your like the little sister I never had and you mean a lot to Sirius as well" he continued quietly. "Just know that you can trust us ok? Whatever you have told Remus you can trust us to. We won't push you like that again okay?"

Ginny studied him as he spoke to her. So like Harry, she thought. She was touched with what he had said. "Thank you James" she breathed. "Trusting you is not the problem, a lot of it is hard for me to talk about" she admitted to him.

He nodded at her and pushed off from the wall. Leaning down he placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. "Come meet us for a drink in the Three Broomsticks when you have finished your shopping okay?" he asked her and she nodded as he walked away. Remus hurried to catch up with James offering Ginny a wink as he walked past.

Still leaning on the stone wall she watched with cautious eyes as Sirius approached her. He took a few long strides until he was standing in front of her. She took in his dark jacket and red scarf as he stopped in front of her. Mesmerised she could not take her eyes off him. "Hi" she said a little breathless and she silently berated herself when he smirked at her.

He didn't say anything but simple took another step closer to her until their bodies were touching. He placed one arm on either side of her shoulders effectively trapping her in. She swallowed hard suddenly nervous and again he smirked.

"Stop doing that" she muttered.

"Doing what Ginny love?" he said softly, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Smirking at me" she whispered.

"I'm sorry" he told her suddenly. "I'm sorry for the other day, for pushing you so hard. I know you have secrets Ginny Delacour but I get that you're not ready to talk about it" he continued gently.

Her eyes widened as she listened to his apology. "Thank you" she said softly. Nothing else was said between them. Sirius simply leaned forward and brushed his cheek against hers. Her eyes involuntarily closed with the close contact and she took a shaky breath. Kiss me she yelled in her head. Sirius grinned to himself when he took in her reaction to their close proximity. Pushing closer to her he leaned down and placed a gently kiss on her earlobe, causing her to hiss with the contact. Very happy with himself he leaned back and took a step away from her.

Her eyes opened when she felt the loss of contact. Frustrated when she saw him standing back from her she let out a tiny growl of impatience.

Sirius grinned at her and turned to follow James and Remus. "See you later Ginny" he said as he walked away.

"You are such a flirt Sirius Black" she said to him watching him walk away. He laughed loudly and offered her a cheeky grin over his shoulder.

Two hours later Ginny and Lily had finished their Christmas shopping. Ginny had gotten a gift for Sirius, Remus, James, Lily, Peter, James's parents and of course something for Gideon, Fabian and Bill. She had gone to the owlery and posted the gifts to the Burrow and to Potter Manor. The rest she would give out on Christmas Day.

Lily had again apologised about that night with Snape and she had told Ginny how she had known him from before Hogwarts and how that deep down she knew he was a good person. Ginny merely nodded whilst silently disagreeing. She knew that she would never forgive Snape for double-crossing them all and for killing Dumbledore in the future. "Are you okay?" Lily had asked her. She had seen there was some tension between Ginny, James and Sirius over the last few days. James had even mentioned to her that there had been an argument but he had not gone into any details.

"I'm getting there" Ginny had told her. "It's hard at Christmas".

"Did you sort things out with James and Sirius?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah we did, this morning" Ginny told her knowing she wanted to know more but not wanting to drag Lily in too deep just yet.

They had decided to go get a butter beer in the Three Broomsticks before looking for robes. It was snowing softly and the temperature had dropped. Walking into the pub they found it packed with students. Every table was full. Looking around Ginny saw the four Marauders at a table near the back of the room. Pointing Lily in that direction the two girls approached the boys.

"Girls!" James said happily when they approached. He slid over on the bench making some room and Lily blushed as Ginny pushed her forward to sit next to James. The two quickly engaged in a conversation and Ginny found herself grinning at the two of them. A look she noticed was matched on Sirius and Remus's face. Peter's attention was elsewhere and Ginny looked to see what had caught his attention. His eyes were on a group of Slytherins who had just entered the pub. In the group were Snape, Regulus, Jonathan Zabini and another male and female sho she recognised as seventh year students.

Turning away from them she told Lily she was going to get them a drink from the bar. Remus quickly stood up and offered to help her carry the drinks. The two approached the bar and ordered. "There is an Order meeting in a few days" he told her quietly.

"Really? Dumbledore hadn't mentioned that to me" she had told him. "I want to be there". Remus looked around before leaning into Ginny and whispering "James, Sirius and I are going to be inducted". Ginny's eyes widened and she was about to say something but the barmaid passed them their drinks.

They collected the drinks and made there way back to the booth. Two other girls had joined them and they were standing off to the side in front of Sirius and Peter. One girl with dark brown hair was leaning over Sirius and openly giggling at what he was saying. Ginny narrowed her eyes at the girl as she placed the drinks on the table. She was very pretty she grudgingly admitted. Sirius she noted was eating up the attention. She felt Remus at her side as he gently toucher her elbow offering her a seat at the table. She gratefully sat down not taking her eyes off the girl flirting with Sirius.

"So Sirius Black are you going to ask me to the ball or not?" she said flicking her hair over her shoulder and smiling at Sirius.

Everyone at the table waited in silence for his response. "I don't know Amy, do you think you could handle me for the evening?" he said jokingly enjoying the attention.

"Can you handle me?" she shot back and everyone at the table gave up the pretence of pretending not to listen and looked to Sirius. Unaware he had the table's attention. Sirius cocked his head to the side and ran his eyes up and down the girl's body. He eyes flicked to Ginny momentarily, an eyebrow rose in silent question.

How dare he, Ginny silently fumed. He's taunting me. Not wanting to give Sirius the satisfaction of seeing how affected she was she simply turned to Lily and asked her about what type of robes she wanted to get for the ball.

"I'll pick you up at 7 on New Years Eve" she heard Sirius say to Amy. Ginny tightened her grip on her glass and narrowed her eyes slightly as Amy and the other girl left the table.

Out of the corner of her eye Ginny noticed the group of Slytherins approach the table. She felt Remus tense beside her, knowing that he was thinking about Snape hitting her and she gently placed a hand on his knee to let him know that it was alright. "Delacour" Jonathan Zabini said in greeting approaching the booth.

"Zabini" she replied eyeing the group behind them, specifically glaring at Snape.

"My goodness they let anybody in here these days" Sirius said loudly looking down his nose at the group of Slytherins. James nodded in agreement.

"Chill Black, I'm not here for you" Jonathan said coolly.

He focused his attention on Ginny. "Come to the ball with me" he told her confidently. Ginny stared at him with wide eyes, somebody at the table choked on their drink and at least two people spat out "What?" Even the Slytherins behind him were looking at him in shock.

"I'm sorry?" Ginny said shocked.

"You heard me" Jonathan said confidently as he smirked and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Cool, calm and collected Ginny thought. Typical Slytherin.

"Are you asking me or telling me Zabini?" she said glancing out of the corner of her eye at Sirius. He was glaring at Jonathan.

"Asking of course" Jonathan replied a small smirk on his face.

"And what would everyone say? A Slytherin and Gryffindor actually choosing to socialise" she asked a small grin appearing on her face.

Jonathan shrugged his shoulder. "Let them talk".

Her smile widened as he took in his nonchalant attitude. Just like Blaise Zabini from the future, Jonathan Zabini also had that I don't really care attitude. It had been common knowledge in the Order that the Zabini family had not been Death Eaters. Nor had they openly defied Voldermort, they simply played it neutral, doing what was best for the Zabini's. Switzerland, Ginny thought suddenly. Just like Switzerland.

"Pick me up from the Gryffindor common room at 7 on New Years Eve" she told him echoing Sirius from earlier. She smirked when she saw the shocked looks she was getting from Sirius and James. The Slytherins turned to head off; Regulus slightly hung back, Ginny noticed. His eyes flickered to hers momentarily and she was concerned by what she saw there. He looked lost.

"Regulus" she called out quietly. It was loud enough for him to hear. He turned to her his face impassive as he looked at her. "We need to talk about our potions assignment" she said knowing there was no potions assignment, but she couldn't say anything in front of everyone else. He didn't say anything, he just looked at her. "I'll owl you tomorrow" she told him quietly and he nodded at her before turning to leave.

**

* * *

**

A light snow had fallen over night and the morning sun was glittering on the snow like diamonds. Ginny sighed deeply as she looked out the window, thinking of her family. This would be her first Christmas without them. You will not cry today, she told herself. She had been gently flicking through her beloved photo album for the last ten minutes. She was the only one in her dorm staying for Christmas, Becca, Alice and Marlene had all gone home for Christmas but would be back in a few days in time for the ball on New Years Eve. She glanced down at a photo of her family with Harry and Hermonie. It had been taken at Grimmauld Place during her fourth year, before the Battle in the Department of Mysteries, before Sirius had fallen through the Veil. "I love you all. Merry Christmas" she said softly to the picture, leaving down to kiss it gently.

She stood up and pulled her dressing robe on and put on her slippers. Making her way slowly downstairs a smile made its way to her face as she saw James and Lily sitting on a couch kissing. She stopped at the bottom of the staircase and simply watched them. She felt someone behind her and grinned when she saw Sirius and Remus. She threw herself into Remus's arms hugging him tightly. "Merry Christmas" she whispered to him. He returned the gesture kissing her gently on the cheek.

Remus bounded down the stairs and left Ginny and Sirius staring at each other. Without saying a word he pulled her to him and gently placed a soft kiss on her lips. Ginny sighed deeply and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer to her in a hug. "Merry Christmas Ginny love" he whispered to her as he ran a hand up and down her back. She revealed in his embrace and didn't say anything back. She simply burrowed her head into his neck and breathed in the scent that was uniquely Sirius. "Save a dance for me at the ball okay?" he asked her quietly. Ginny nodded again knowing it was the closest apology she would get from him for not asking her to the ball himself.

The two pulled apart and headed over to the couch to join the others. "Merry Christmas" Ginny said loudly as she gave James and Lily a hug. Thankfully Peter had gone home for Christmas. The group quickly tore into their presents. Ginny was surprised by the pile of gifts that had her name on them. She had received some books, chocolates, and clothing from James, Lily and surprisingly Dumbledore. Seeing three gifts left she leaned over to grab the first one. Looking at the card her mouth fell open in shock. It was from Gideon, Fabian and Bill. Gingerly pulling away the wrapping she eyes widened as she took in a Weasley jumper. It was dark blue with a delicate G sewn onto the front in cream. She hugged it to her chest and tried to blink back the tears before they fell. She felt an arm go around her shoulders and she turned to see Sirius sitting next to her with a curious expression on his face.

"It's a Weasley jumper" she said in awe. Not for one second had it ever occur to her that she would ever see one of these again. "It's from Bill and the twins" she continued.

Not wanting to get upset again she quickly put the jumper down and grabbed the next present. It was a large white box with a big red ribbon it. She looked at the card and saw it was from Remus. Her eyes widened when the box moved slightly and she looked at Remus in alarm. He laughed at her and gestured to the box. Gently pulling off the ribbon she opened the box and squealed when she saw what was inside. Inside was a small black and white kitten, it mewed softly when it saw Ginny and she gently reached inside the box and lifted it out, cuddling it to her chest. "Oh Remus" she said happily. Pulling back she lifted the kitten in front of her face and took in its green eyes and white patch of fur on its otherwise black face. "You'll have to think of a name for her" Remus said, happy to see that she liked the kitten.

Ginny felt Sirius shuffle next to her and she looked over at him. "Here" Sirius said giving her a small gift box. It was his Christmas present to her. She pulled off the ribbon and gently opened the small box to find a delicate silver chain. She glanced over at Sirius quickly and found him staring at her. Gingerly pulling the necklace out of the box she saw a diamond pendant attached to it. This must have cost a fortune, Ginny thought. Again she looked at him about to tell him that she couldn't accept it but she suddenly stopped. The way he was looking at her made her mouth go dry and suddenly she could not find any words. She simply reached over grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently. "Thank you" she said softly.

The rest of the day passed quickly. They didn't leave the tower, except to take a short walk on the grounds. Dinner came round quickly and the group made their way to the Great Hall for Christmas dinner. A figure was pacing the outside the entrance hall and as they approached. Ginny stopped when she realised that it was a Regulus. She saw Sirius turn to glare at him. "What do you want?"

"Nothing from you" Regulus spat back the anger apparent in both of their voices. Ginny quickly stepped forward before things got out of control. "Okay" she said as she placed herself between the two of them. Turning to Sirius and the others she said "Go into the hall, I'll be right behind you".

Sirius raised his eyes at her and opened his mouth to protest. "No, Sirius go" she said before he could say anything. Behind her she heard Regulus chuckle, whirling around she glared at him. "Don't. I won't be used as some bait between the two of you" she said to him.

She glanced over her shoulder and nodded at the others as Remus led them into the hall. Turning back to Regulus she raised an eyebrow in question. "Well?" she asked him. He didn't say a word but grabbed her arm and dragged her down the hall away from the students coming into the Great Hall. When they were far enough down the hall he quickly cast a silencing charm so that anybody passing by would not be able to hear them.

"Well?" Ginny asked again.

Regulus shuffled uncomfortable on the spot. "I'm sorry" he blurted out on the spot. Ginny frowned; she was not expecting him to say that especially after the last time they had spoken.

"Did you go through with it?" she asked boldly referring to him become a Death Eater.

He did not answer her, but his silence spoke volumes. Sighing deeply Ginny ran a hand through her hair. She knew that she would tell Dumbledore that Regulus had become a Death Eater. She knew that in the future he did turn and she knew that she would need his help to get the locket horcrux. Tread carefully Ginny she told herself.

"I won't tell anybody" she said softly, knowing that Dumbledore would be the exception.

Regulus looked at her in shock and his mouth dropped open in surprise. He had not been expecting her to say that. He was waiting for her to yell at him or run away screaming in horror.

"I'm not saying I like it or I agree with it, you know that Death Eaters killed my family. But I'm here if you ever need to talk" she told him looking him straight in the eye.

He quickly stepped forward and grabbed her arm roughly looking her deeply in the eyes, trying to find if she was speaking the truth. Ginny felt her breath hitch as his close proximity. His eyes were just like Sirius. Dark and mysterious. Feeling slightly uncomfortable she pulled her arm out of his grasp and pulled back from him. "I should go" she said looking over her shoulder towards the Great Hall.

He nodded at her and took a respectful step backwards. "Oh Regulus" she said softly looking at him once more. He turned to her a questioning look on his face but he remained silent waiting for her to continue. "If you hurt me or anyone I care about, if I come across you in a battle, if for whatever reason I think you have gone too far that will change everything. Do you understand?" she asked him coolly. Her eyes never wavered from him and she looked at him with steely determination.

Again unable to say anything he simply nodded at her and watched as she spun around and walked away from him. He didn't move for a few minutes, he simply stood there thinking about her. She had guts he admitted to himself. Gryffindor through and through. Yet there was something else. She was willing to accept him as a friend as she was and not tell anybody about him being a Death Eater. Why? he though curiously. Regulus Black did not trust easily, just as Sirius did not. It was time he found out more about Ginny Delacour.

* * *

New Years Eve arrived before they knew it and Ginny was getting ready in her dorm with Alice and Marlene. Becca has already left. The girls all had dates and were looking forward to the evening. "Are you coming Ginny?" Alice asked from the door as she, Marlene and Becca were ready to go downstairs and greet their dates. Looking round for her shoes Ginny waved them on. "I'll be right behind you" she told them as they left the dorm.

Downstairs Sirius Black glared at Jonathan Zabini as he waited for Ginny. "Bloody Slytherins" he muttered under his breath. James turned to ask him what he had said but saw him glancing at Zabini and didn't bother. Lily had come down the stairs and was looking lovely in a set of deep purple robes. The three made their way to the Great Hall, swinging by Hufflepuff to pick up Sirius's date Amy. They made their way to the Great Hall and quickly found Remus and Becca getting themselves a glass of punch. The group was chatting amongst themselves but Sirius had stayed silent so far. Where is she? he thought. What could be keeping her. He didn't like the fact that Ginny was coming with Zabini and he had admitted to himself earlier on that he should of asked her to the ball himself instead of playing games. He took another glance at the door and froze. "Sirius?" James questioned waving his hand in front of Sirius's face trying to get his attention. Turning to see what had caught his attention, James's eyes widened.

There was Ginny, in a dark blue strapless floor length dress. Her hair had been curled and was put up into a messy bun with soft tendrils framing her face. She had on a sparkling set of diamond drop earrings that James recognised as his mothers. Her eyes were dark with makeup. She looked gorgeous. And she was on the arm of Jonathan Zabini.

"Wow" Remus whispered from beside them as all three boys watched Ginny.

Sirius Black was seething. How dare Zabini put his hands on Ginny. And Ginny he had never seen her look so beautiful. He felt liquid drip over his hand and he looked down and noticed the glass of punch that he had been holding had broken. Behind him Remus and James exchanged a worried look.

An hour or so passed and Ginny was surprised at how much she was enjoying herself with Jonathan. Some of the Slytherins he had introduced her to were horrid. Surprisingly one or two had talked to her. She had purposely avoided going over to see the Marauders, Lily and their dates. She had caught Sirius watching her out of the corner of her eye. He looked jealous. Good she though, serves him right for not asking me himself.

Ginny laughed as Jonathan twirled her around the dance floor. He was a great dance. "I'm impressed" she said honestly, a little breathless. He laughed quietly and led her over to get a glass of punch. She was delighted to see Gideon and Fabian also getting punch and excused herself from Jonathan for a while whilst she went to talk to them.

Sirius had had enough watching her socialising with the Slytherins and their dates, she had even talked to his brother, he thought angrily. Seeing Gideon and Fabian pull her away for a chat he knew this was his chance. Pushing past his date, James, Lily, Remus and Becca he made a beeline for Ginny. James quickly followed him calling a "Moony" over his shoulder. But it was too late. Sirius had already started on Ginny by the time they got to him.

"What do you think you are doing hanging out with the Slytherins?" he hissed at her.

"Excuse me?" Ginny asked angrily squaring her shoulders and placing her hands on her hips. "You heard me Ginevra" he hissed angrily. "Your not allowed to come with them"

"Now Sirius" Fabian began from next to Ginny.

Ginny turned to the twins and smiled at them. "It's okay, I've got this"

"You think you can tell me who I can and can't hang around with or date? You are severely mistaken Sirius Black" she said angrily, trying to keep her voice down.

"I can and I will" he said with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Now, now you two. Why don't we take this outside" Remus said as he and James approached the angry pair.

"Good idea" chimed Gideon and Fabian in unison.

"Don't bother" Ginny said taking a step back from them all. "Next time Sirius you ask me to the dance" she cried angrily before spinning on her heel and walking away.

Not wanting to let her go so easily he called out "Ginny wait" and he quickly reached forward to grab her arm, preventing her from walking away from him.

She glared at him and tried to get out of his grasp. "Bugger off Sirius" she said coldly. "No" he told her softly trying to get her to stop struggling and look at him. "I'm sorry" he said quietly. That got her attention. Ginny stopped moving and looked up at him, surprised to see remorse on his face.

"What Sirius?" she asked slumping her shoulders in defeat.

"Dance with me" he whispered as he gently pulled her out onto the dance floor. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer and she momentarily froze with their close proximity. She relaxed after a moment into his embrace. They stayed quiet, just simply dancing. Ginny was not sure how long they stayed together, it could have been one song, it could have been ten.

Sirius pulled her closer he looked down into her eyes to find her already staring up at him. Gently lifting a hand he stroked her cheek and Ginny allowed her eyes to flutter close and she leaned into his touch. The sounds of the music stopped and Sirius pulled away from her gently. "Come with me" he said quietly before turning and walking out of the Great Hall. Ginny allowed herself to be led away.

They had been out in the hallway for less than five seconds before Sirius swung around and gently pushed her against a wall before kissing her deeply. "Merlin Ginny, what you do to me" he breathed in her ear before trailing kisses down her neck.

Ginny was in heaven. Sirius was creating a trail of fire with the kisses he was leaving on her neck. Letting out a moan of pleasure she roughly pulled his face back up to hers and placed a hungry kiss on his lips. Sirius ran his hands over her body, wrapping one around her back pulling her closer to him and pushing them further into the wall at the same time. He gently ran a hand over her hips, enjoying the feeling of the soft fabric of her dress under his hands. He pulled back from her and looked deeply in her eyes. He could see desire in her eyes and that made him want her even more. He had to stop himself realising that they were in the hallway. He roughly pushed back from the wall and grabbed her hand firmly in his pulling her away from the Great Hall and back towards Gryffindor tower.

"Our dates" Ginny said softly, not wanting to ruin the moment.

"Screw them" Sirius muttered as he continued to lead her to the common room. Needless to say it took them longer than usual to reach the common room. They made a few stops along the way to kiss some more. Finally getting there Ginny muttered the password and they were granted entry. Sirius wrapped his arms around her waist and led her upstairs to the boy's dormitories. Knowing his dorm room would be empty Sirius led her over to his bed and gently pushed her down onto it. He looked at her laying there, her wide eyes staring up at him, her lips slightly puffy from the recent attention he had been giving him.

"Your beautiful you know that?" he told her softly, pleased to see a blush appear on her face.

Suddenly she looked unsure of the situation. "Sirius, I'm not ready to go all the way" he told her, averting her eyes so she did not have to look at his face.

He smiled down gently at her and lay down next to her. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to do" he said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him in a hug.

They lay there for a while, not saying anything, just enjoying each other's company. Sirius knew he had fallen for her and he didn't want to lose her. Gathering all his Gryffindor courage he looked down at her and was surprised to find her already looking at him. He then asked the question that he had never asked another female.

"Will you be my girlfriend Ginny Delacour?" he asked quietly, suddenly unsure of her reaction, momentarily afraid that she would say no.

Ginny lifted her head to look at him. "Took you long enough Sirius Black" she said laughter in her eyes before she leaned over to kiss him deeply.

Needless to say there was no talking for a long time.

* * *

James Potter had woken early. He had not gotten out of bed though, he had been laying there for a while thinking about last night. Everything had been perfect between him and Lily. They had had a great evening and she had even kissed him at the end of the dance. A female giggle interrupted his thoughts and James quickly rolled over and looked at Sirius's bed next to him. The curtains had been drawn shut and he watched with interest as they opened near the head of the bed and out came Ginny wearing one of Sirius's t-shirts and a pair of boxer shorts. She had her dress and high heels in one hand and began to quietly creep out of the dorms. James simply watched her. Once she had left he turned back to look at Sirius's bed and noticed that Sirius had opened the curtains on his bed.

"I know you're awake Prongs" he heard Sirius call softly.

For a moment James didn't answer him. Instead contemplating what he was going to say to Sirius. "Be careful with her Padfoot" he said quietly knowing of Sirius's history with women.

Sirius leaned over so he could see James. "She's different James" he said simply and James could see that he meant it. "I really care for her" he continued.

James wisely didn't say anything. Maybe, just maybe Sirius had found someone who could handle him, he thought. It would take a strong women to be with Sirius Black. And Ginny just might be it. If they didn't kill each other in the interim he though thinking of their short tempers.


	9. There's No Place Like Home

**Chapter Nine – There's No Place Like Home**

**** ****Thankyou for the reviews. Hope you enjoy!****

The first Order of the Phoenix had assembled in Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts. For the last fifteen or so minutes a number of witches and wizards had flooed into the school. The meeting had been organised a week ago and Dumbledore had been planning ever since. He eyed them all curiously. There was a mix of Hogwarts staff including Professor's McGonagall and Flitwick and Madame Pomfrey, Aurors including Mad Eye Moody and Kingsley, ministry employees including Arthur Weasley and Matthew Potter and their respective wives as well as a number of other people. All in all there were almost 20 people there. Along with the induction of the new members he had wanted to discuss the Horcruxes with them all. After great deliberation he had decided to tell the members about them. He would make them all take an unbreakable vow to never reveal what was to be discussed of course. He knew after speaking with Ginny he was sure that nobody here was going to betray them. Many of them had died in the future fighting Voldermort, himself included. But thanks to Ginny Weasley things were going to change. The knowledge she possessed would help them immensely in the fight. He frowned a little as he thought back to earlier today when Ginny had come to his office.

"I want to be at the meeting" she had said. Dumbledore had sighed, he knew this was coming. Sooner or later one of the boys would have told her about being inducted to the Order and he knew she would want to follow. "I don't think that is for the best" he had told her gently. "Your identity must be kept a secret for your own protection".

"We don't have to tell them anything about me. Just let them know I am Ginny Delacour"

"No. Your resemblance to your mother is uncanny. Both her and your father will be here tonight. I don't want people asking questions. Besides you're not yet 17 years old" he had told her.

She had not agreed with him and had left his office in anger.

And now as he saw looking at all those in the meeting he knew he had made the right decision. If word got out that she was from the future. Well he knew how much Voldermort would want to get her. "Welcome everyone" he said loudly calling them all to attention.

All the Order members found themselves and chair and looked at Dumbledore in interest. "Firstly thank you for coming here today. Most of you know the young men who are about to be inducted today – James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Frank Longbottom" he said gesturing to the young men sitting in the back.

Dumbledore called them forward and they each took an oath.

"Secondly what I am about to tell you must never leave this room. I am going to ask you to indulge me. Before I tell you what I must I must ask you to make an unbreakable vow that you will never repeat what you are about to hear" he told them very seriously.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. "Albus" Mad Eye Moody began but he was cut off with a wave of Dumbledore's hand.

"I have some information about Voldermort. It is vitally important that this news never gets back to Voldermort, no matter how mistakenly" he told them and noticed that he held everyone's attention. It was Remus Lupin he eyed for a moment. Ginny had made him aware that she had told Remus her story and Dumbledore had to admit he was grateful the girl had found somebody she felt comfortable enough to confide in.

The Order members individually made an unbreakable vow with Dumbledore and retook their seats. Everyone was watching him in anticipation. "About six months ago it was brought to my attention that Voldermort had performed some very dark and very old magic. He has made a number of items into horcruxes"

A gasp came from the group and he knew that more than one person had heard of a horcrux. "A horcrux is an item that is created when an individual decides to split their soul, by performing a terrible crime" he told those who were looking at him questioningly.

"I believe Voldermort has created five of these" he said softly.

A number of questions were shouted at him. One stood out louder than the others. "How do you know this information is true?"

"It is true. It was given to me by a very reliable source, one that I tested with veritarism" he told them all.

More questions were shouted at him but again he interrupted. "We have also already destroyed two of these horcruxes so far. The rest need to be destroyed before we can have the final battle"

"Where are the remaining horcruxes?" Mad Eye Moody asked.

Dumbledore sighed and glanced down at his injured hand. Whilst the injury actually looked better he knew the truth. Slowly a poison was making its way through his body. Eventually it would kill him and Dumbledore could only hope it was after they had defeated Voldermort. "I'm not 100% sure where they all are. But they know about is here at Hogwarts in an enchanted room. The room is filled with a number of objects and it will take us some time to locate it".

* * *

Ginny Weasley laughed as she strolled through Diagon Alley. Classes were due to start again in two days time but before then she had asked Dumbledore for permission to go to Diagon Alley with Gideon and Fabian. He had happily granted her permission knowing the Order meeting was to be held at the same time. She had been delighted when she had met Gideon and Fabian at the Leaky Cauldron. Behind them stood Bill and another small red headed child. Upon closer inspection she had realised this was Charlie.

Bill had been happy to see her and had excitedly introduced Charlie to her. Ginny smiled down at the young boy who was looking at her shyly. "Hi Charlie" she said her heart warming her as she looked into his warm brown eyes. Eyes just like hers she had thought. "Shall we go look at the animals?" she had asked him and his face had lit up in glee. The group had made their way to the owlery and had looked at all the owls, cats and other animals. Charlie had been in his element running around looking at everything.

"Ginny can we go to the quidditch shop?" Bill asked her, already bored from looking at the animals. Nodding at him she watched as Gideon rounded up Charlie and they made there way outside. Bill and Charlie ran slightly ahead and Gideon yelled out at them to wait for the rest of us.

Fabian fell into step with Ginny. "So you and Sirius hey?" he asked her cocking an eyebrow at her in question. Ginny blushed slightly and nodded back at him smiling.

"It's about time" Fabian said happily. It had been obvious to those in Gryffindor that there was something between Ginny and Sirius, the twins had even taken bets on how long it would take them to get together.

"Hey Gideon" Fabian called out and grinned when his brother turned around. "You owe me 2 galleons, Ginny and Sirius are together" he laughed.

"You simply couldn't hold out another month or so could you?" he said glaring at Ginny and then reaching back to ruffle her hair.

A loud explosion suddenly rocked through Diagon Alley and many screamed. In front of them a shop had blown up and figures were appearing from the dust. Figures in black robes and masks. "No" Gideon said loudly, looking in horror at the site in front of him.

"Death Eaters!" somebody yelled from the crowd.

Ginny had whipped out her wand and was holding it in front of her. Frantically she was searching for the others. She saw Fabian with a wide-eyed Bill and a crying Charlie. Gideon was a few steps away and approaching them fast.

"We need to get out of here" Ginny said loudly as she approached them looking down at Bill and Charlie. She was not going to watch her brothers die again in battle. Not now when they were so young and had so much ahead of them.

"The floo at the Leaky Cauldron" Ginny said to Gideon and Fabian and they nodded at her in agreement, knowing none of them could apparate yet. The screams of the crowd intensified as the Death Eaters began to shoot spells at them. Gideon and Fabian had their wands out also as they pushed Bill and Charlie in front of them trying to keep them shielded from the curses that were flying around. The group made their way carefully past the remains of the exploded building. Suddenly there was a loud bang and another explosion and the group were thrown to the ground with the force of it all. Ginny groaned as she felt something hard hit her in the back of the head. Her vision momentarily left her and she gasped in horror. As quickly as it left it came back and felt something trickle down the back of her neck. Pushing herself off the floor she hissed in pain as she felt her ankle. It was likely sprained as she could barely put any weight on it. She reached to the back of her neck and grimaced when she felt warm liquid. Her hand was covered in blood. Frantically she looked around for the others and was relieve to see Charlie next to her crying loudly and holding his arm to his chest. She scurried closer to him and looked around for the twins and Bill. She saw them about 10 meters away covered in cuts and bruises but relatively unscathed. They were right near the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron.

And then suddenly she couldn't see them. Out of nowhere it had seemed four or five Death Eaters had placed themselves between her and the twins. "Ginny!" she heard one of them yell and she cringed when she saw two of the Death Eaters turn to face the twins and fire a curse. "Run! Get Bill out of here, I have Charlie" she yelled at them, hoping they could hear her, and hoping they would be smart enough to get Bill to safety.

She turned to face Charlie and her heart broke as she watched him look round in horror, tears freely running down his cheeks. "It's going to be okay" she said quickly pulling him to her. Charlie clung to her legs. He was not very tall and only came up just past her waist. At the same time she was looking around analysing the situation. Where were the Order and the Aurors? she thought frantically. She needed to get Charlie to safety. He was her only priority right now.

"Well well well we meet again" a cold female voice said from behind her and Ginny swung around her wand out in front of her. She quickly pushed Charlie behind her.

"Hello Bellatrix" Ginny said coolly trying to hide her fear.

Bellatrix cocked her head to the side as she studied the girl. She had bright red hair and freckles immediately distinguishing her as a Weasley but there were no female Weasleys. It was common knowledge among the Pureblood families, the Weasleys being one of them, that there had not been a female Weasley for a long time. The girl had guts she had to admit as she thought of their last confrontation.

"Who are you?" she asked curiously.

Ginny simply glared at her.

"You were with my cousin last time we meet weren't you? How is dear Sirius?" she asked coldly not really caring if Sirius Black was dead or alive.

Ginny narrowed her eyes at Bellatrix extremely aware that Charlie was behind her.

"Crucio" Bellatrix yelled pointing her wand at Ginny. The curse hit Ginny squarely in the chest and she crumpled to the floor in pain. She felt like she was on fire, every part of her burned. She felt Charlie beside her and as much as it hurt her to move, she pushed her body on top of Charlie's trying to keep him protected. Bellatrix took notice of this and laughed. She lifted the curse and watched in satisfaction as Ginny struggled to breath.

Ginny gently pushed herself up from Charlie and looked down at the boy. He was terrified. She briefly looked past him to the remains of the shop behind them and an idea formed in her head. "When I get up and curse Bellatrix you run. You hide in the rubble behind you. You don't come out for anyone but me okay?" she whispered to him gently running her hand through his hair. Without waiting for his response she pulled herself up, struggling to support herself with her bleeding head and her sore ankle. "Reducto" she yelled at Bellatrix catching the witch off guard. Ginny did not look back at Charlie, as she heard his intake of breath followed by the sound of feet running as they hit the pavement.

Bellatrix had successfully dodged the curse and before they knew it the two witches were duelling. "Your name" Bellatrix hissed as she hit Ginny with a curse again bringing her to her knees. Without waiting for a response she again cast the Crutacious curse on Ginny. Ginny screamed in pain again. But Bellatrix did not let it go. Two minutes passed but to Ginny it felt like an eternity. During this time Bellatrix had walked closer to the red headed girl. "Your name" she said again, louder this time.

"Ginny. Ginny Delacour" Ginny had muttered out as soon as the curse had stopped. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes, she didn't know how much longer she could hold out. She wearily raised her head to look at Bellatrix and sobbed when she saw another Death Eater running up behind her. Surely this was going to be the end of her. Charlie, she though mournfully. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes just waiting for Bellatrix to finish the job.

"Aurors!" she heard a familiar voice yell. She quickly opened her eyes again and saw the Death Eater that had approached Bellatrix point towards the other end of Diagon Alley. Bellatrix shrieked in anger and glared at Ginny. "Until next time little Delacour" she said angrily before apparating away.

The Death Eater approached Ginny not saying a word. He knelt down to her and picked up her wand that she had dropped when she was under the Crutacious curse. He then handed it to her. "Your safe now" he said to her quietly as he handed her the wand. Ginny's eyes widened in surprise. "Regulus?" she said quietly. It even hurt to speak. He said nothing; he simply stood up and apparated away.

Ginny pushed herself to her feet whimpering in pain. She could barely walk but she had to get to Charlie, she had to get him to safety. The Burrow she immediately thought. She slowly made her way to the rubble "Charlie?" she called out quietly, unable raise her voice than to more that a whisper. But he heard her. She had never been happier than when she saw his red head poke up. His eyes widened when he saw her and he quickly scrambled out and ran to her. "Your hurt" he said quietly, scared that the Death Eaters were still there. "It's okay now" she said quietly as they made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. Seeing the fireplace in the corner she led Charlie over it as quickly as she could possible manage. They lined up behind an elderly couple who were also wanting to leave. Ginny reached forward and gave Charlie some floo powder. "To the Burrow" she told him and watched as she stepped into the fireplace. "The Burrow" he yelled and Ginny quickly stepped inside following him.

The spinning made her feel sick. It did not help any of her injuries and she struggled to keep herself conscious. She hit the floor of the fireplace with a thud. Looking up she saw the room full of people. "Ginny!" she heard numerous voices call out. She ignored them. Her eyes were drawn to two of the red heads. In front of her stood her parents, young and alive.

And then she fainted.

* * *

Only thirty minutes earlier Gideon, Fabian and Bill had come flying though the floo into the Burrow. Gideon checked Bill over quickly and saw that he was okay, just a few minor cuts and bruises. Fabian had a nasty looking cut on his left arm. He quickly grabbed a small amount of floo powder and through it into the fire, planning on making a quick floo call to Dumbledore's office. He knew that was where Molly and Arthur were. The flames lit up and he poked his head into the fire calling out loudly "Professor Dumbledore".

The Order meeting was about to wrap up when Dumbledore's fireplace roared to life. Gideon Prewitt's face suddenly appeared. "Professor Dumbledore" he said anxiously causing everyone in the room to look at him. Molly Weasley quickly stood up hearing the tone in her younger brother's voice. She knew something was wrong before he had even said anything. "Gideon?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"It's Diagon Alley, Death Eaters are attacking" he said quickly.

"What?" "When?" a number of voices cried out. "My boys" Molly yelled loudly thinking of Bill and Charlie.

Dumbledore stayed calm and approached the fire. "Floo here now Gideon" he told him sternly. He stepped back from the fireplace making room for the incoming guests and within moments Gideon, Fabian and Bill flooed into Dumbledore's office.

Molly let out a large sob and her and Arthur quickly approached Bill. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Where is Charlie?" she asked anxiously looking at the fireplace, expecting to see him appear any second.

"Two buildings have exploded, there are at least 15 Death Eaters there. We only just got out" Gideon told Dumbledore and the other Order members.

Dumbledore sprung into action organising a team to go help right away. Half of the Order members left via floo immediately.

"Charlie. Where is Charlie?" Molly cried loudly.

"He's with Ginny in Diagon Alley still" Fabian finally said not wanting to see the look on his sister's face. "No" Molly wailed loudly as Arthur quickly hugged her.

Sirius Black pushed forward anger and shock on his face. "Did you say Ginny?" he asked loudly standing in front of the twins. They simply nodded. "That's not possible, Ginny should be here at Hogwarts" Sirius said confused. He turned to look at James and Remus who were now standing beside him.

"I gave Miss Delacour permission to leave Hogwarts today to go to Diagon Alley" Professor Dumbledore said, placing a soft hand on Sirius's shoulder. He immediately shrugged it off. "What?" he hissed dangerously, his eyes wide with worry for Ginny.

"We had to leave. We got separated from Ginny and Charlie. Death Eaters came between us and they started firing curses at us. Fabian got hit by one and Ginny yelled at us to get Bill to safety. She had Charlie with her still" Gideon said mournfully with Fabian next to him.

"And Ginny. Did you see her? Was she alright?" Sirius asked quickly unable to believe that she was there in Diagon Alley right this moment.

"She was okay when we left. She was going to get Charlie and hide I think" Fabian told the group.

Silence took over the room. All that could be heard were Molly's cries. Arthur stepped forward and said "We should get back to the Burrow and wait for Charlie. He would come back to the Burrow when he can".

"Excellent idea. I believe Mr. Weasley and Messrs Prewitt should get to the hospital wing to get checked out before they leave here though" Dumbledore injected.

"No" the twins said in unison. "We are going back to the Burrow to wait as well" they continued together.

And with that the Weasley's and Prewitt's left the office. Sirius stepped forward "Professor I want to go to Diagon Alley" he said quickly wanting to go find Ginny himself.

"You will do nothing of the sort Mr. Black. None of you will" he said eyeing all three boys. "There are enough Order members there now. As soon as Miss Delacour is found she will be brought back here" he continued.

"But sir!" Sirius cried with James and Remus chipping in.

"No" Dumbledore told them sternly. 'Now please return to Gryffindor, I will be in contact as soon as there is news".

* * *

It was an anxious wait at the Burrow. Molly was alternating between sobbing with worry over Charlie and fussing over Bill and the twins. It was Arthur who noticed the fireplace coming to life first. Before he got a chance to warn anyone out came Charlie tumbling. "Charlie!" he yelled quickly rushing forward to pick up his son. He pulled him into a hug, Molly joining them after only a split second.

She pulled Charlie out of Arthur's arms and looked him over. There was a cut and bruising on his arm but apart from that he looked okay, just shocked. "Are you okay?" she asked breathlessly.

Charlie nodded and buried his head against his mother's arms. "Ginny is hurt" he told her quietly. But the others heard.

"Where is she?" Fabian asked Charlie worried for Ginny's safety.

"She was right behind me. She got me to a fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron and told me to floo the Burrow. She was attacked by a lady Death Eater. Ginny covered me when she was hit with a spell. She was in lots of pain, her head was bleeding but she got up and told me to hide and I did but I could still hear her. She was screaming so loudly. The lady Death Eater kept yelling at her and Ginny was in so much pain" Charlie said softly, his eyes filling with tears.

Molly quickly pulled her to him in a hug. "Do you mean Crucio Charlie?" Gideon asked with a heavy heart. Charlie simply nodded and the twins, Arthur and Molly exchanged worried looks.

The fireplace roared to life again and they all watched with wide eyes as Ginny appeared from the flames. "Ginny!" Gideon, Fabian and Bill all yelled as they rushed forward to help her. Before they reached her however she fainted dead away.

* * *

Sirius Black paced anxiously back and forth in the dorms. James and Remus watched him silently from the bed. Peter had again disappeared for the day. "I hate this" Sirius said in frustration. "She could be out there hurt, dying and we have to stay here" he said in anger.

James and Remus silently agreed but kept quiet not wanting to wind Sirius up further than he was. James had the Marauders map laid out in front of them. They were keeping an eye on Dumbledore's office to see when anybody would appear there. So far there was nothing, not even Dumbledore was there; in fact Dumbledore had left Hogwarts over an hour ago. A tapping at the window interrupted the tension in the room and Sirius quickly ran to the window opening it to let the owl in. He pulled off the letter and opened it. _Miss Delacour has just arrived. Please make your way to the hospital wing._

Out of habit the three boys glanced down at the Marauders Map again and stared in surprise when he saw four occupants in the hospital wing. Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey and Ginny Weasley. "Ginny Weasley?" James said confused. He looked up at both Sirius and Remus with a confused look on his face. Sirius looked just as confused but Remus had an odd expression on his face. Almost like resignation? "Remus?" James asked. And Sirius too turned to look at Remus.

He reacted quickly and pulled the map of James's hands. It hadn't even occurred to him that Ginny's real name would be on the map. The map doesn't lie, he reminded himself. "Now is not the time. We should go see Ginny" he told them softly.

The others agreed and within seconds the boys were running down the stairs, out of the portrait hole and towards the hospital wing. They entered the hospital wing and looked around. At the end of the room were Dumbledore, McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey leaning over a bed. "Ginny!" Sirius called as they approached, hoping to get a glance at her.

"Keep your voices down" McGonagall said as she glared at them.

Sirius simply ignored her and looked past her at Ginny. His face went pale when he saw the blood matting her red hair, making it look darker than it was. There was blood smeared on her clothes and her face was pale. There were minor cuts and bruises on her arms and her ankle looked painfully swollen.

"Is she asleep?" Remus asked quietly from Sirius's side.

"No she is unconscious" Madame Pomfrey replied before she began working on Ginny. She muttered a healing spell and the cuts on her arms disappeared immediately. "She has spell damage Albus" Madame Pomfrey said as she ran her wand over the girl's body. "Her magical energy is very low" she said with a hint of worry in her voice.

Professor Dumbledore sighed and glanced quickly at the three Marauders before replying. "Young Mr. Weasley informs me that she was put under the Crutacious curse more than once and for quiet some time" he said unhappily.

The three boys froze. Sirius's fists clenched in anger, Remus looked at Ginny with worry and James just simply shook his head. "Bastards" Sirius said loud enough for them all to hear.

Professor McGonagall turned to them. "If your going to stay, you sit here out of the way of Madame Pomfrey do you understand?"

"Yes Professor" they chorused. They did not want to have to leave.

An hour later Madame Pomfrey was done. She had cleaned the blood off Ginny and healed her ankle. The boys pulled chairs up next to her bed and simply waited for her to wake up. Sirius had pulled his chair closest to the head of the bed and was gently running his hand through Ginny's hair as he watched her. "Why is Ginny going by Delacour and not Weasley Remus?" Sirius asked him after Madame Pomfrey was out of hearing distance.

Remus uncomfortably shifted in his chair under the gaze of Sirius and James. "I promised Ginny not to repeat what she told me" he said quietly.

Sirius growled and glared at Remus. "Damn it Remus, that is my girlfriend laying there. Tell me now!" he hissed at him.

An ear-piercing scream interrupted them and they quickly looked at Ginny. She had sat up in fright and was screaming from the bed. Sirius quickly jumped up and grabbed her body forcing her to look at him. "Ginny" he said urgently shaking her softly. Ginny stopped screaming and focussed her eyes onto Sirius. She gave him a scared look, not sure where she was or what had happened. But at that point she didn't care. Sirius was there and she knew that meant she was safe. "Are you okay?" Sirius asked her as he gently ran his arms over her. Just looking at him made Ginny burst into tears. Sirius simply sat down on the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms. He softly rubber her back trying to get her to calm down. "You're okay" he said softly. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you".

As she continued to sob into his shoulder he looked at James and Remus helplessly.

Her sobs eventually subsided and once Ginny had composed herself she pulled back from Sirius and laid back down on the bed.

"Are you okay?" he asked her again as he softly picked up her hand.

"I've been better" she sighed as she took in three boys sitting round her bed.

"What were you thinking staying in Diagon Alley like that?" James asked her.

She didn't answer him; instead she had looked at the folder parchment in his lap. Her face suddenly paled. "Give me the parchment" she said softly, knowing that it would show Ginny Weasley on the map. She had used her version of the Marauders Map only a couple of times since she had arrived here. It had never occurred to her to look for herself and that it would show her true name.

"It's just a piece of parchment" James said as he handed it to her trying to sound nonchalant.

"Sure it is" Ginny said as a tiny smile made its way to her face despite the panic she was feeling. She looked around for her wand and saw it lying on the table next to her bed. Reaching over she grabbed her wand. She looked at the three in front of her – Sirius and James looked confused and Remus looked concerned. Not taking her eyes off the three she lifted her wand and tapped the parchment. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good".

Both Sirius and James gasped and looked at Remus in alarm. He had his head in his hands. Before they could start accusing Remus of giving away Marauder secrets Ginny spoke again. "Ginny Weasley" she said quietly.

All three looked at her in shock. "I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier" she continued.

"How did you know" Sirius asked pointing at the map.

"It wasn't Remus who told me" she said. She pointed her wand at the map and said a soft "Mischief managed". She looked him deeply in the eyes and gently squeezed his hand.

"For the moment can you just trust me? I can never be known as Ginny Weasley it simply isn't safe for me".

And before Sirius or James could say anything else Madame Pomfrey came back and ordered the boys to leave the hospital wing so Ginny could rest.

* * *

Regulus Black and Severus Snape snuck back into Hogwarts undetected. Voldermort had been very pleased with the attack on Diagon Alley. They had created fear, which was what they wanted to do. They had shown the magical population that day that anybody could be attacked, anywhere. Regulus slowly made his way up to his dormitory his mind heavy. At first it had been amusing watching the Death Eaters duel the frightened witches and wizards. He had even cursed a few himself. That had all changed when he saw Bellatrix cursing Ginny. For a moment he had stood there simply watching. Ginny had collapsed on the ground and was screaming as the Crutacious was held over her. Hearing her screams he suddenly felt a strong desire to protect. It had shocked him because he cared for nobody that much. He had been brought up to never display emotion and yet he found himself wanting to yell in Ginny's defence. He had suddenly rushed forward wanting to step in and stop it somehow but he was cautious that other Death Eaters would see every move he made. Regulus had almost sighed in relief when the Aurors had shown up. Rushing forward to warn Bellatrix he had found his heart clenching when he got to Ginny. She was pale, bloody and struggling for breath. He had simply reached down and given her the wand that had fallen at her feet. And then he had left.

And now as he lay in bed he questioned for the first time whether becoming a Death Eater had been the right thing to do.

* * *

Ginny woke early the following morning. For a moment she lay in the hospital wing wondering how she got there. Instantly everything came back to her. Sitting up she winced as her muscles ached. She knew it would take her a few days to stop hurting no matter how many potions Madame Pomfrey gave her. She took in Sirius, James and Remus asleep in the chairs around her bed. They must have come back when she was sleeping. Knowing that they were there warmed her heart for a moment until dark thoughts pushed their way through. It was all just too much. The loneliness, the fighting, everything.

Silently pulling herself out of bed she crept out of the hospital wing quickly looking over her shoulder to make sure nobody had noticed her departure. She had one destination in mind and swiftly made her way up a staircase to the second level. She was thankful it was early morning and there were no students around. She pulled open a door to a classroom and sighed in relief when she was the dusty Mirror of Erised. Quickly approaching the mirror she simply stared when her family materialised along with a group of other people. Harry, Hermonie, Luna, Neville just to name a few. She suddenly felt like her whole life's happiness was wrapped up in that mirror and no matter what she did she would never be able to reach it.

"It does not do one good to dwell on the past too much" a calm voice said from behind her. Ginny swung around quickly in fright. She simply stared at Professor Dumbledore as he eyed her over the rim of his glasses. She shrugged her shoulders at him and without saying anything she turned back to her family, her eyes taking them all in again.

Dumbledore strode forward until he was standing slightly behind her and he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Miss Weasley" he began but she interrupted him before he could continue.

"What do you see?" she asked him without taking her eyes off the mirror.

He had seen his sister, mother and brother of course. When they were younger and happy. Before his sister had died. But he did not tell Ginny that of course. "I see myself holding a pair of warm woolly socks".

Frowning she looked over at her shoulder at him quickly, not sure whether to believe him or not. But did it really matter? "I don't think I can do this anymore" she admitted as she faced the mirror again.

Dumbledore simply sighed. "You can do this. You are stronger that you give yourself credit for. Look what you did for the young Charles Weasley yesterday"

"Maybe I don't want to do this anymore" she replied softly.

"Never underestimate the support from those around you Ginny. The Marauders care a great deal for you. Especially Sirius Black" he continued.

"I never got to say goodbye to them you know" she said gesturing to her family and friends in the mirror knowing that only she could see them. "It all happened so fast. The battle at Hogwarts I mean. We were all spread out fighting until Harry's body was brought out of the forest".

Dumbledore paused for a moment before gently turning Ginny away from the mirror and facing him. He pulled a ring of his hand and placed it in his palm. "Do you know what this is?" he asked her.

Frowning at him she nodded. "Of course, it was the ring horcrux" she said a little confused.

"It is more than that Ginny. This stone in the ring is a resurrection stone. It will allow those that have passed on a chance to come back".

Ginny's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at him with a hopeful look on her face.

"They only come back temporarily of course. They are not alive Ginny. They are simply beings" he told her quickly.

Against his better judgement he closed her hand over the ring and took a step back. "You have that for an hour. You say your goodbyes and they you get rid of the ring. Bury it somewhere in the forbidden forest, somewhere where nobody will ever find it. Somewhere that you will not be able to find again. If this ring got into the wrong hands…" he trailed off.

Ginny nodded at him unable to say anything. She simply tightened her grip around the ring.

"Now I shall head back to the hospital wing and distract Madam Pomfrey. I believe that she will be wanting to give you your potions soon" he said lightly his eyes twinkling.

She watched as Dumbledore left and closed the door behind him. Carefully eyeing the ring in her hand she was unsure how to actually use it. Ginny closed her eyes and squeezed the ring in her hand thinking of her family, Harry and Hermonie. She could feel the magic build around her. Warily opening her eyes her mouth dropped open in surprise when she took in those standing in front of her. A solitary tear made its way down her cheek.

"Ginny" her parents said in unison as they rushed forward and hugged her tightly. Ginny allowed herself to fall into them and she hugged them back just as tightly. She felt her mother wiping the tears on her cheeks and she pulled back to look in the warm brown eyes of Molly Weasley.

"I love you" Ginny said quietly and both her parents grinned at her.

"We love you too, so very much Ginny" Molly told her. "We are so proud of you" Arthur continued.

They stepped aside and allowed each of her brothers to come forward and hug her. They took it in turn youngest to oldest with Ron, Hermonie and Harry stepping in first. There were numerous I love you's shared between the siblings and Ginny found herself relishing each and every hug.

Harry stood next to her after the hugging was completed and she found that she couldn't take her eyes off him. "It's crazy how much you look like James" she told him.

"It's crazy how you're dating my Godfather" he replied back with a grin on his face as everyone laughed at her. Ginny could feel a blush forming on her cheeks.

"We say you yesterday you know" Fred said interrupted them. "When the Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley" George continued as he took in the confused look on Ginny's face.

"You can see me?" Ginny asked them all quietly.

Hermonie stepped forward and explained it to Ginny. "It's not like we watch you all the time" she said quickly trying to reassure Ginny. "It's more like we can check in on things from time to time and yesterday we all wanted to watch the attack in Diagon Alley".

"You need to be careful of Bellatrix Ginny" Arthur said to his daughter. "You have met her two times now and she is not happy you have got away on both times. You need to watch yourself".

"I know that Dad but yesterday could not be helped. Gideon and Fabian could not get back to Charlie and I, and there was no way I was going to let Charlie take a crutacious" she said.

Molly rushed forward and hugged her again. "You are very brave my girl".

The group stood around talking for another thirty minutes or so. They spent most of the time reminiscing about things they had done together over the years. Ginny could feel a change in the air almost like a pulling sensation and she knew that there time together was coming to an end.

"Please don't go!" she cried suddenly reaching forward to the closest person and grabbing Bill's arm.

He looked down at his younger sister and smiled softly at her. "You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for Gin. We will always be with you in one way or another. Now you'll just be with younger versions of us – you'll get to see us all grown up. You need to let us go now though. You need to get rid of that ring"

They slowly began to say their goodbyes and one by one they stepped backwards and slowly disappeared until it was only Harry left. "I love you" he said suddenly as his green eyes focussed on her. "I'm sorry for how we ended and I'm sorry for leaving you alone whilst we went looking for Horcruxes".

"It's okay" Ginny said as she gently reached up and cupped his cheek with her palm.

"Sirius is good for you. I think you're good for each other" he told her honestly. "I'm happy that you found them. Sirius, Remus, Dad and Mum I mean. Gin, I think you should tell them everything. You know that you can trust them right?"

Ginny took a step back from Harry and began to pace back and forward. "Trusting them is not the issue. I'm afraid Harry. I'm afraid that they won't like me when they hear everything and I need them. It's scary how much I need them. They are all I have here along with Gideon and Fabian" she told him quietly.

Harry's eyes narrowed and he quickly took a step forward pulling her roughly into his arms. For a moment she closed her eyes and clung to him. It felt like it had a year ago, before everything had changed so much.

"Live the life you have now Gin, not the life you had" he whispered into her ear. Pulling back he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and gently tucked some hair behind her ear. "I have to go now" he told her softly as he pulled away from her.

Harry took a couple of steps backwards and Ginny felt her heart lurch. She knew this would be the last time she would see him. "If things go according to plan, you'll see me when I am born in a few years" he told her as he chuckled. And Ginny found herself smiling at that.

"I'll make sure you have the best childhood" she told him.

"One more thing quickly, Snape is not all evil. He tried to save my life in the Forbidden Forest and he didn't murder Dumbledore. Dumbledore asked him to kill him because he was already dying from a poison".

"What?" Ginny said loudly as Harry began to fade away.

"You and Dumbledore can work it all out together Ginny"

"Harry wait!" she cried rushing forward but it was too late.

With a final wave and a cheeky "Goodbye Mrs. Black" Harry Potter disappeared following her family back to wherever it was they had come from.

Ginny stood there in disbelief for a few moments, comprehending what had happened over the last hour. She looked down at the ring in her hand and her heart screamed out for her to activate it again and call them all back. But her head knew that Dumbledore was right. She had to get rid of the ring. Looking around the empty room she found herself smiling slightly. "Thankyou for everything" she said to the empty room before quietly leaving and closing the door behind her.

Ginny quickly made her way downstairs and glided past the Great Hall. There were only a few students around as it was still early and this worked in Ginny's favour. She broke into a run and quickly flew down the stairs out the front of the castle and into the Forbidden Forest. She stopped suddenly cautious of where she was. She walked forward slowly and after fifteen minutes she found an unassuming spot in between a cluster of trees. It was somewhere that did not stand out and somewhere she knew she would not be able to find again easily. Ginny quickly buried the ring and turned around walking away. Using a location spell she found her way out of the Forest and back onto the grounds.

For the first time since she had arrived she felt some sort of peace.


	10. More Than a Feeling

**Chapter Ten – More Than a Feeling**

**** Thank you everyoen for your reviews. I am so sorry it has taken me so long to get this next chapter up. I am getting married next month and have been busy with organising that. Enjoy the chapter and please review****

Ginny looked over her shoulder at the group following her along the corridor. James, Remus and Sirius were talking softly between themselves. Occasionally Sirius would glance up at her and if Ginny caught his gaze she could feel herself blush. Sirius had not let her out of his sight over the past few days since she had been released from the hospital wing. With the exception of actually attending classes, Ginny suddenly found that Sirius was constantly around. And if she was being honest with herself, she found his presence very comforting. Every night the two of them would sit by the fire in a corner in the common room and talk. Sirius had never pushed her to reveal more that she wanted to and she was thankful for that. But Ginny had decided that tonight was time. Since her visit with her family and Harry and Hermonie thanks to the resurrection stone Ginny had felt a small weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

A soft touch on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts and Ginny looked up into Remus's warm eyes. "Somebody has been following us" he said as he pointed to the small kitten that was pattering around his feet.

"Luna!" Ginny exclaimed happily as she spotted the kitten that Remus had given her. She had named the kitten after her old friend. The kitten was inquisitive just as Luna Lovegood had been. She readjusted the black bag that she was carrying over her shoulder as she picked up the kitten. Inside the bag was her photo album, her copy of the Marauders Map, the letter from her brothers and Harry and of course the DA coins.

Remus reached over to scratch Luna on the head and Ginny giggled as Luna pushed her head up to Remus's hand almost urging him to scratch her more. "Your doing the right thing you know" Remus told her quietly.

She shot him a questioning look, silently urging him to continue.

"Telling Sirius and James. They both care for you a lot, we all do" he said smiling gently down at her. "What you are carrying around inside you Ginny, what you are dealing with knowing what is to come. Well, you need support"

Again she said nothing but simply cast a glance at him.

"I can see it in your eyes Ginny. Just how much it weighs on you sometimes"

Ginny shifted Luna to her other arm and used her free arm to reach put and grab Remus's hand. Giving it a gentle squeeze she offered him a brilliant smile. "You're my best friend Remus Lupin, you know that?" she said quietly.

Reaching the entrance to the Room of Requirement Ginny stopped, dropped Remus's hand and turned to face Sirius and James. "Do you know where we are?" she asked them curiously. The Room of Requirement was not on the Marauders Map and Ginny was sure that none of them knew where they were.

"We are in the third floor corridor?" James asked confused as he looked around at the empty corridor.

Ginny grinned at the three of them. "I don't believe you know all of Hogwarts secrets yet James" she said cheekily before beginning to pace back and forth. _I need a place where we can be alone to talk, where nobody can overhear us _she thought to herself. Taking a step back Ginny smiled when a doorway suddenly appeared behind her. She took in the surprised looks on the boy's faces and grinned wider as she opened the door. "Welcome to the Room of Requirement" she said stepping into the room. They quickly followed her.

"What is this place?" Sirius asked amazed as they entered and looked around. The room had changed according to Ginny's thoughts and in front of them was a small sitting room with a large rug, a few comfy oversized chairs and a small coffee table with a tray of piping hot chocolate.

"Some people call it the Come and Go Room. The room becomes whatever you need it to become. It also connects to the Hogs Head in Hogsmeade" she told them.

"How did we know not know about this? Actually how did you know about this?" James asked causing all pairs of eyes to focus in on Ginny.

"That's why we are here. There is a lot I need to tell you, some of which Remus already knows" she said quietly as she walked forward putting Luna down and taking a seat on one of the chairs. She gently put her bag down next to her and watched as they all took a seat. "Before I start you need to promise me something you can't repeat what I am going to tell you. If it ever got out what I'm going to tell you, however inadvertently it would not only be my life at risk" she told them seriously.

"Ginny-" Sirius began.

"No I'm serious. You have to promise me. Not a word to anyone. Especially not to Peter" she told them. "Dumbledore already knows everything and I believe he has told you some of what I'm about to tell you at the Order meeting?" she queried as she looked at Remus. He nodded at her in return. Sirius and James staying silent during this exchange.

Ginny opened her bag and gently pulled out the Marauders Map and her photo album. "Remus didn't tell me about the Marauders Map, I have my own" she said waving the map at them. "This is your map from the future" she began. "As you know my real name is Ginny Weasley. My parents are Arthur and Molly Weasley, Gideon and Fabian's sister. The twins are my uncles"

Sirius and James had stunned looks on their faces. "But that would mean – "James began but Ginny cut him off.

"I'm not even born yet. I don't exist until 1981" Ginny replied quietly. "I've come from the future. The day that I fell into your yard last summer James; I was sent back by a time-turner that was charmed to send me directly to Potter Manor. My time is 20 years from now" she began.

"In my time Voldermort had a massive following and had taken control of the Ministry and of Hogwarts. We have muggle-born registers, Death Eaters as Hogwarts Professors. Utter mayhem. It all came to a head the day that I arrived in Potter Manor. We had the final battle here at Hogwarts and we lost. Voldermort attacked Hogwarts, many of us students stayed to fight, to try to help Harry anyway we could. But we were outnumbered. Most of the Order of the Phoenix and the DA were killed, my family and friends were murdered and Harry did not survive" Ginny told them sadly.

"Voldermort had come out of the Forbidden Forest with Harry's body. In that one moment we all knew it was over. Suddenly my brother Charlie appeared in front of me and dragged me through Hogwarts into an empty classroom. We ran past so many dead bodies. We had such a short amount of time together. He gave me this bag and the time turner, told me he loved me and I disappeared just as Death Eaters reached us. Charlie died protecting me" she whispered quietly as a single tear made its way down her cheek. She didn't bother to wipe it away.

"You said Harry was your brother's best friend right? Why would you all try to help a boy fight? " Sirius asked confused.

Ginny took a deep breath and opened the photo album to a page that had a picture of just her and Harry. James and Sirius started opened mouthed at the picture. "Prongs he could be you!" Sirius said in amazement.

"Harry is the key to it all. That is Harry James Potter, the boy who lived. You son James" she said told him quietly.

James stared at the picture in disbelief. "I have a son" he said awed. "Did you know him well? Is he like me? Who is his mother?" he asked Ginny curiously.

Ginny allowed herself a small smile at him knowing he would not be so jubilant when she finished her story. "I knew Harry very well. And he is like you in ways. He is also like his mother. He's a great Quidditch player. He was the youngest Gryffindor player in a century. He made the team as a Seeker in his first year. I dated him for a while."

"You dated him?" Sirius asked surprised. Ginny nodded at him and thought that he looked the tiniest bit jealous.

"Potters like redheads. Lily was his mother" Ginny continued.

Both Sirius and Remus laughed as James blushed bright red.

"That's what I have been keeping from you all. That is what I live with every single day. The people we lost. The memories, everything. I can't go back. There is nobody left to go back to"

They were looking at her in disbelief, trying to comprehend what they were telling her. Sirius could not believe what he was hearing. He knew that Ginny had her secrets but he never imagined that it would be anything like this.

"What about us?" he croaked out. "Were we there?" he asked referring to the Final Battle.

"This is where it gets hard" she admitted. "I knew Remus the best. He was my Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor in my second year. After the events of my first year well let's just say that Remus helped me a lot. I also knew his wife pretty well. She was an Auror."

"Moony married an Auror! Who is she?" Sirius asked as Remus chuckled.

"She won't tell me" Remus said frustrated.

"You haven't met her yet that's why. I don't want to spoil anything" Ginny explained.

"What about me? Did you know me in the future?" Sirius asked curiously.

Ginny briefly closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Ginny?" Sirius said softly concerned.

Ginny whirled around and took a step closer to the boys. "You did not have a happy life Sirius. The first time I saw you was in Grimmauld Place. I'll never forget the look on your face. You looked so haunted. You spent thirteen years in Azkaban for a crime you did not commit. You then escaped Azkaban in your animagus form but had to go into hiding. Two years later there was a Battle in the Department of Mysteries. Harry had received a vision of you being captured and tortured by Death Eaters. So we came to rescue you. You were killed in the battle by Bellatrix Lestrange." she managed to choke out.

"James, you didn't make it out of the first war. Voldermort killed you and your wife himself. And then Remus was the only Marauder left by the time Voldermort got to Hogwarts. Remus died in battle with his wife by his side.

There faces had gone pale, both James and Sirius seemed frozen on the spot.

"There is so much more. Oh this is so hard!" Ginny said angrily as she jumped up from her chair and began to pace around the room.

A stunned silence had taken over the room. Ginny forced herself to meet Sirius's face. He looked confused, like he didn't believe her. "What crime?" he asked quietly his eyes never leaving her face.

"Ginny start with the prophecy" Remus said gently. He could feel the tension in the room and knew it would not be going away anytime soon.

And so she began telling her story yet again. Starting with the rise of Voldermort, the Prophecy, the Potters being betrayed by Peter and being killed by Voldermort right up to Harry's upbringing and the hunt for the Horcruxes and the Final Battle.

She felt spent. For the most of her story she had looked down at her hands not wanting to see the reactions on the faces of Sirius and James. Ginny bravely raised her head and took in their expressions. They looked stunned and disbelieving. "Every word I have said is the truth" she told them softly.

"I'm going to kill Peter" Sirius seethed. He stood quickly as if to leave the room. Anger written all over his face. But Ginny was quicker. She had her wand out and was standing in front of him before he knew what had happened.

"You will do no such thing" she told him quietly.

"But Ginny, he turned to Voldermort, he betrayed James and Lily " Sirius stuttered, still unable to believe everything that he had been told.

"You think I don't know that" she asked him her head shaking slightly in frustration. "It's taken me a while to realise this but you can't punish people for things they haven't done yet. I hated Peter the first time I met him, I hate Severus Snape with a passion. And I want nothing more than to see Lucius Malfoy be given the dementors kiss for what they have done. But none of it has been done yet" she stressed to him.

Sirius cocked his head to the side and took a step towards Ginny. "And my brother? Where does he fit into all of this?"

"Regulus has his part to play Sirius" Ginny told him quietly, knowing that was not what he wanted to hear. She had not revealed the fact that Regulus was a Death Eater that betrayed Voldermort in her time, or the fact that she was sure he was a Death Eater now.

She reached forward and held his hand, pulling on it slightly and forcing him to look at her. "Can you trust me?" she said quietly. "I've got a plan you know. I'm going to make sure the future doesn't happen that way"

"This isn't a game Ginny, you can't just go out and change everything. Look at what has happened to you so far. The attack in Diagon Alley and our trip to Hogsmeade" he told her.

"Of course I can change the future. I have to believe that Sirius. What else do I have? I have none of my family or friends. All I have are these memories of a life that I will never have. So if that means I am going to get hurt in battles or hunting Horcruxes or befriending Slytherins then that is what I am going to do" she said softly but firmly.

Sirius looked down into her eyes and gently squeezed her hand. Reaching up slowly he gently brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "So we create memories and a life for you here. This is your life now Ginny" he told her quietly. "I'm going to help you. You know that right?"

"We all are" Remus spoke up from behind them. "Whatever you need Ginny" he said his eyes shining in determination. He reached forward and put a hand on her shoulder, offering her his comforting presence.

"What is the DA?" James asked curiously from beside Remus. Both Ginny and Sirius turned to look at him and found James holding up a galleon. Ginny smiled at him and walked back towards him. Gently turning the coin over in his hands she showed him the writing on the other side. _Hogwarts Final Battle. _She knew he had seen the coin before. "The DA stands for Dumbledore's Army. We formed a group in my fifth year to practice defensive spells when the Ministry started to interfere at Hogwarts. Harry was the leader. I came up with the name" she said smugly. "There were about 20 of us students from 4th to 7th years in it. My three brothers, Ron, Fred and George were in it. We learned defensive spells like Reducto and the Patronus charm, things that you don't usually learn to your 7th year. And they came in handy. Reducto saved more than one life when we battled the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries and certainly helped on the Hogwarts express when the Dementors showed up. Harry had a lot of power and he was a good teacher" she mused.

James gave her an odd look before jumping up and pulling her into a hug. "Your like the sister I never had Ginny" he said as he swung her around in a circle. Placing her back on the ground he looked down at her. "You could have been my daughter in law!" he exclaimed in shock before doubling over in laughter. Both Sirius and Remus chuckled along with him.

"Harry would have had to get through my six brothers before I became a Potter" she replied cheekily, glad the conversation had taken a light heartened turn.

Composing himself James leaned down and whispered in her ear. "One way or another we will make you officially family one day" he told her as he cast a glance at Sirius.

Ginny could feel herself blush under James's suggestion.

The group sat down and talked over things for another hour or so. Or rather the boys asked questions and Ginny answered them as best she could. "There are some things that are just too painful to talk about. Little things that remind me of them all. I may never be able to talk about it you know" she mused.

The group got up to leave and James froze on the spot. "What about Lily?" he asked blushing slightly, she was going to become his wife and the mother of his children.

"You can tell Lily when the time is right James. But bring her hear to tell her so there is no risk of being heard" Ginny told him.

* * *

Coming out of charms the following afternoon Ginny was walking down the corridor with her dorm mates when she saw Sirius approach them with a determined look on his face. The girls exchanged knowing glances and quickly stepped to the other side of the hallway to give Sirius a chance to talk to Ginny. "Hi" she said a bit hesitantly, unable to read the expression on his face.

Sirius didn't say anything he simply pulled her to him and kissed her on the mouth. Surprised Ginny dropped her books and responded in kind. Ignoring the giggles of her dorm mates, she let herself get lost in everything that was Sirius. His strong arms held her tightly to him, his hair gently brushing against her cheek, his unique scent filling all her senses. She didn't know how long they stood there kissing. Nothing else mattered at that moment except Sirius.

Pulling back to breath Ginny took in the dark look in Sirius's eyes. A shiver of pleasure washed over her and for one fleeting moment Ginny felt that everything was alright. Sirius is my future, she thought to herself. She was so lucky to have the Marauders in her life. James was her replacement brother, her daily remainder of Harry and what she was fighting for, Remus was her confidant and her best friend yet Sirius had her heart. And she had a feeling he always would.

He gently leant his forehead on hers took in a shaky breath. Ginny thought he seemed almost nervous. "I'm in love with you" he whispered. "It doesn't matter where you came from or what happened back in your time. You're here now".

Ginny smiled shyly up at him. Inside her heart was pounding. "I love you to" she whispered back to him.

He grinned wolfishly down at her. "I've got a feeling about you Ginny Delacour. You're going to change my world". And he placed a quick kiss on her forehead and was gone before she could say anything else.

* * *

Regulus Black had been following Ginny around for the past few days. He had been reluctant to talk to her in Potions class after the incident in Diagon Alley, so he had occupied his time in class by concentrating on his studies. And of course he was nervous about the fact that she knew he was a Death Eater. Outside of class he had become her shadow. Discreetly of course, nothing less would be expected of him. At first glance if you weren't looking to deeply Ginny seemed like every other teenage girl at Hogwarts. However once Regulus started paying close attention to her, he found he couldn't stop. Ginny was actually quite different from the other girls in their year. It wasn't anything that she had specifically done; she went to classes, Quidditch practice, spent time with the other Gryffindors and she was close to Lily Evans, the Prewitt twins and the Marauders. With the exception of Peter Pettigrew of course. She spent little time with him and when they were together in a group in the Great Hall at meal times she almost ignored him completely. Regulus was sure he had caught her looking at Peter in utter contempt one day.

It was one evening when she was studying in the library by herself that Regulus got his first glimpse at the real Ginny Delacour. She had a faraway look on her face as she stared past the books in front of her and at some invisible point on the wall in front of the table she was working at. A dark look came over her face and Regulus knew that whatever thought had crossed her mind was causing her deep pain or anger. He had stayed hidden behind a bookcase watching her for about ten minutes. Ginny was still lost in her thoughts when Remus Lupin approached her.

"Are you okay?" Remus had asked her concerned as he sat down next to her.

"I will be one day" she had replied. And she was completely honest in her response, Regulus had thought.

"After he's dead right?" Remus asked.

"Of course. I wish we were out there finding the things quicker so we could kill him" Ginny replied.

Regulus frowned in confusion. What things? And whom did Ginny want to kill?

"I want to be there when he is killed Remus. I want to walk up to him and tell him who I am and that every one of his followers will be punished for the crimes that were committed" Ginny said coldly.

Regulus found their conversation had quickly ended when a large group of young students came into the library.

That had been two days ago. He had spent the time after the spying in the library thinking. His thoughts had been divided between analysing everything he had done and seen since becoming a Death Eater and analysing the life of Ginny Delacour. A seed of doubt had entered his mind if becoming a Death Eater had been the right thing to do. He believed in purity of blood and that pure blooded witches and wizards should be given a higher place in society, he was a Black after all. He did not believe that half bloods and muggle borns should be killed just because they were not pure bloods. After all you can't control who your parents are right?

He had thought the attack in Diagon Alley had been a good idea. It was just to scare people and show them the power of Lord Voldermort and the Death Eaters. But seeing Ginny being cursed by Bellatrix Lestrange had momentarily opened his heart. He had used any excuse to get Bellatrix away from Ginny and was happy to hand Ginny back her wand after Bellatrix had fled.

Little did Regulus know but at that very same moment Ginny was thinking about him and was hoping that she could get him to care about her enough that he would turn from Voldermort.

The Gryffindor quidditch practice had just finished and the group were packing up the equipment as the Slytherin team approached. Jonathan Zabini kept a tight rein on his team and did not want their training distracted by taunting the Gryffindor team tonight. They had a game in two weeks time and Jonathan was determined to see Slytherin. He eyed the group of Gryffindors as they approached. Sirius Black was leading the group with James Potter. Behind them were Ginny Delacour and the Prewitt twins. The rest of the team had already left.

Jonathan turned to look at Regulus Black who was eyeing the group cautiously. "You've got five minutes" he whispered to Regulus before turning back to face the Gryffindors.

"Black, Potter, Prewitts and Miss Delacour. I trust you had a pleasant practice?" he asked them, faking interest.

"Jonathan Zabini, always a pleasure" Ginny said with an amused look on her face.

Jonathan smirked when he noticed the scowl on Sirius's face. Sirius had taken a step backwards to stand next to Ginny. Almost possessively, Jonathan thought.

"Let's go" Sirius said to the group as they began to leave the pitch.

Jonathan eyed Regulus curiously. It was common knowledge around Hogwarts that the Black brothers did not get along. Sirius was a happy go lucky Gryffindor who was a complete disappointment to his parents. At the end of his fifth year he had left his family home and moved in with James Potter and had never returned home. He also had his inheritance cut off, well that was what he had heard through the Hogwarts rumour mill. The animosity between the brothers only fuelled those rumours. And now Regulus wanted to talk to Ginny Delacour, Sirius's girlfriend, about some potions work they were supposed to be doing. Jonathan did not believe for one second that was what Regulus wanted to talk to Ginny about, but really what did he care? It was no skin off Jonathan's back if they were to talk. And besides he was quite happy to stand on the sidelines and see how things would play out. He genuinely liked Ginny. She was witty and not afraid to speak her mind. She was also very good at charms and curses. He could sense power and knowledge in her and he wondered for a fleeting moment if Regulus did too.

"Ginny can I have a word?" Regulus asked as he stepped forward, placing himself in front of the group of Gryffindors.

Ginny offered him a small smile and took a step forward. "Okay" she said quietly walking past Sirius and James.

But Sirius was quick to grab her arm. "Ginny" he began but she cut him off with a withering look. To Regulus's surprise Sirius did not say anything else. He simply turned to glare at him and stalked past the Slytherins back towards the school. The Prewitt twins wordlessly following him.

Only James Potter lingered. He eyed Regulus for one moment before turning to face Ginny. "I'll wait for you at the entrance hall okay?" he asked her.

"Thank you James" she replied.

Seeing as the Gryffindors were gone and Jonathan had led the Slytherins onto the pitch Regulus turned to face Ginny. He quickly got out his wand and cast a silencing spell so that nobody could hear them.

Ginny, he noticed, didn't say anything. She simply gave him one of those inquisitive looks of hers. He suddenly wanted to tell her everything. He was unsure of his decision of becoming a Death Eater. He was sorry that she had been hurt in the attack on Diagon Alley. But couldn't find the right words.

"Does Voldermort tell you much about himself?" Ginny asked him curiously.

He had not been expecting that. "Not really" Regulus replied honestly.

"His real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle and he is a half blood" Ginny continued.

"What?" Regulus said in shock.

"That's right, your Dark Lord is a half blood. His father was a muggle. He went here to Hogwarts after spending many years at a muggle orphanage. Interesting that he goes on and on about blood purity when he himself is not a pure blood".

"How do you know this?" he asked curiously.

"I know a lot of things Regulus Black" she responded cryptically as she looked him deep in the eye.

Regulus felt like she was looking straight through him and that she could see into his soul. "Are you a seer?"

Laughter bubbled out of Ginny and she grinned at Regulus. "I wish! That particular gift would come in handy don't you think?"

Regulus found himself smiling back at her for a moment before he remembered what he wanted to say to her. "I'm sorry that you were hurt in Diagon Alley" he said quietly. He didn't like seeing her under the Crutacious curse.

"I'm okay" Ginny said gently. "Are you okay though?" she asked as she cocked her head to the side.

"I'm confused" Regulus admitted to her.

"It's okay to be confused".

"I don't know if I did the right thing anymore" he said as he thought about being a Death Eater.

Ginny took pity on him and quickly stepped forward to give him a hug. "You have to go to practice now. But you know you can talk to me anytime okay?"

She took a step back and turned to head off towards the school where James was waiting for her.

"Regulus what I told you about Voldermort was true. He is a half blood. He is also a maniac. He will not think twice about killing any of his Death Eaters you know that right?"

He simply stared at her waiting for her to continue.

"Keep your ears open when you are with him. He's doing something that nodoby should ever do. You'll know what I mean when you hear him bragging about it"

Ginny didn't wait for his reply; she simply turned and began to jog back towards the school. She saw a solitary figure sitting on the steps at the entrance. She called out a hello when she approached James.

"Are you okay?" he asked her as he stood up.

"I'm fine" she replied smiling at him.

The two turn to walk inside and back to the common room. "Are you going to tell me what that was all about or is this one of those things you don't want to talk about?"

"I know that Sirius and Regulus have their differences and that Regulus and I being friends is trying for Sirius. But Regulus needs a friend James. And I will be there for him"

James looked at Ginny and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they walked up the stairs. "I hope you know what you are doing".

"So do I James, so do I".


End file.
